FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (September 21, 2023) – Northern Arizona Women's Tennis will kick off its 2023 fall season by hosting the Lumberjack Classic at the NAU Tennis Center beginning this Friday and will go through Sunday.
The Lumberjack Classic will be played in a hit-and-dual format, featuring the likes of Tulsa, GCU, and New Mexico. There will be both singles and doubles played across the three days of action.
This will be NAU's lone home event of the fall schedule before the beginning of ITA competition with the ITA All-American Championships in Cary, North Carolina, from Sept. 30-Oct. 8 ahead of the regional and national events.
NAU returns five players from the 2022-23 season, including sophomore Patrycja Niewiadomska, who was named Big Sky Freshman of the Year last season after finishing a perfect 8-0 in conference singles matches.
Niewiadomska's doubles partner from a season ago, junior Laura Duhl, also will return to the team for the new season. As a pair, they recorded a 6-2 mark in regular-season conference play. The two were named to the All-Big Sky Doubles Second Team as a result.
A third returning player who earned All-Big Sky honors last season is Ava Neyestani, who, like Niewiadomska, went undefeated in singles last season against conference competition.
As a team, the program finished last season as the runner-up in the Big Sky, falling to Weber State in the conference finals. The Lumberjacks earned their highest ITA ranking in school history, clocking in at No. 52 after victories over Weber State and No. 53 Colorado State on Feb. 28.
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