FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (April 5, 2023) — The Lumberjack Men's Tennis team will be splitting matches this week as NAU hosts Sacramento State on Thursday at 10 a.m. MST, before heading to Idaho State on Saturday for an 11 a.m. MST matchup.
The Jacks are coming off a 3-0 weekend on the road as NAU knocked down Big Sky opponents Eastern Washington in a 7-0 sweep, and defending tournament champions Idaho in a 5-2 match while sweeping Lewis-Clark State College, 7-0.
NAU sits at the top of the Big Sky standings as the only team in the conference to be nationally ranked by the ITA this season. After the impressive weekend, the Jacks found themselves nine spots up at No. 61, for the fifth consecutive week on the rankings leaderboard.
The Jacks have seen success on both sides of play, in singles and doubles, going 86-17 through singles play and 39-8 in doubles play throughout eighteen matches. Piotr Galus still holds the best overall singles record as the sophomore has only suffered one loss while bringing in 16 victories. Maciej Ziomber has also only seen one loss in his ten matches, while Alex Groves, Dani Torres and Dominik Buzonics each only have two losses a piece.
Galus and Groves lead NAU's doubles pairings with a 12-3 record while Facundo Tumosa and partner Maikel De Boes have gone 6-1, primarily at the No. 1. Buzonics and Daniel Dillon match the 6-1 record, while playing primarily at the No. 3.
Sacramento State is sitting in third place in the Big Sky standings, right below the Jacks, with a 11-4, 4-1 record this season. The Hornets dropped their first Big Sky match to Weber State last week in a tight 4-3 match in Ogden.
The Hornets are led by Mark Keki who has gone 9-1 this season, with eight wins coming at the No. 1 position. Overall in singles play, Sacramento State has gone 54-30 this season. On the doubles courts, Keki and partner Mate Voros hold an 8-3 record together at the No. 1, closely followed by Hayden Rand and Ori Maior who have a 5-1 record at the No. 3 position. The last time the Jacks and the Hornets met on the courts was in last season's Big Sky tournament, where the Jacks claimed a 4-1 victory to knock Sacramento State out of the tournament.
After Thursday's home match, the Lumberjacks will then head on the road to take on Idaho State in Pocatello on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. MST. The Idaho State Bengals are currently in seventh place in the conference standings, with a 7-12, 1-4 record this season.
The Bengals fell in their last two matches to Sacramento State and Weber State, with the team's one Big Sky victory coming to Montana in a 5-2 match at home. The Bengals have been able to keep all of their matches close, as ISU has yet to be swept in a match. Idaho State is led by Victor Sklenka who holds a 10-4 record, primarily playing at the No. 5 spot. The Jacks last faced the Bengals in the regular season closer at home last season, where NAU found the 4-3 edge.
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