FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (April 14, 2023) — The Lumberjacks picked up a 5-2 victory against the Montana Griz today, improving to 19-2, and an undefeated 6-0 in Big Sky play.
The Lumberjacks continued their Big Sky success with a victory today against the Griz, started by a doubles point win. Maikel De Boes and Facundo Tumosa began at the No. 1, followed by Alex Groves and Piotr Galus at the No. 2, with Dominik Buzonics and Daniel Dillon at the No. 3.
De Boes and Tumosa began their doubles match with a 3-0 start, while Groves and Galus continued with the same 3-0 start at the No. 2. Groves and Galus closed out the match with a quick 6-0 victory to Montana's George Russell and Moritz Stoeger. De Boes and Tumosa finished their match in 6-3 fashion to the Griz' Fernando Perez and Guillermo Martin. Buzonics and Dillon went up 2-1 in a dominant start, before the match was retired at 5-4 when NAU clinched the doubles point.
The singles lineup for the Jacks was set with De Boes at the No. 1, Tumosa at the No. 2, Galus at the No. 3, Buzonics at the No. 4, Groves at the No. 5, and Maciej Ziomber stepping in to the No. 6.
Groves faced off against Martin at the No. 5, beginning with a 2-1 lead. NAU's senior went on to finish the first set in dominating fashion at 6-1. Groves continued the momentum into the second set, starting with a 4-1 lead, finishing 6-2 for the Jacks second point.
Ziomber had a slow start going down 1-2 to Russell, before dropping the set 3-6. Ziomber picked up speed in the second set starting off with a 3-2 lead, before ultimately falling in back-to-back 3-6 sets to give the Griz their first point of the match.
Galus began his match at the No. 3 with a break in opponent Fernando Perez' serve to take a quick lead. NAU's sophomore went up 4-3 in the first set before closing it out at 6-4. Galus continued with his dominant performance, leading the second set at 4-1 before picking up the Jacks third point after a 6-1 victory.
Buzonics picked up a fast 3-0 start to his singles match against Montana's Tom Bittner. Bittner battled back a bit before Buzonics capitalized and finished the match at 6-3. Buzonics clinched the match for NAU in a 6-2 second set victory to knock down the Griz.
Facing Montana's Stoeger at the No. 2, Tumosa started with a toe-to-toe match before NAU's senior went down 2-3 in the first set. Tumosa tied things up at 5-5, picking up a crucial service ace to begin the tiebreak where he earned the 7-6 (10-7) victory. Tumosa turned the heat up in the second set to bring in NAU's fifth point with a 6-2 second set win.
De Boes' match at the No. 1 was set between Montana's Gustav Theilgaard. Theilgaard took a 2-1 lead to start the first set, before De Boes bounced back at 4-3 and finished the set with a 6-3 win. Theilgaard picked up momentum in the second set, taking a 5-2 lead before forcing a third set after a 6-3 win himself in the second set. Going the distance, De Boes fell in the third set 3-6.
The Lumberjacks will close out the Big Sky regular season tomorrow against the Weber State Wildcats. A win for the Jacks will secure an undefeated regular season in conference play along with clinching the regular season championship. The match will begin at 10 a.m. MST, and NAU will recognize seniors Tumosa, Groves, and Dillon prior to the match start for their senior day.
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