Northern Arizona, Idaho to Battle Again in the #BigSkyTennis Women's Championship Match
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PHOENIX (April 26, 2019) – It’s déjà vu once again as top seed Northern Arizona and second-seeded Idaho will battle for the fourth-straight season in the Big Sky Women's Tennis Championship match on Saturday at the Phoenix Tennis Center.
Northern Arizona (14-8) rolled into the title match Friday following a 4-0 semifinal win over No. 5 seed Southern Utah. The Lumberjacks will look to claim their first tournament title in 20 years when they captured three-straight championships from 1997-99.
Four-time defending champion Idaho (13-7) will look to become the third team in league history to win at least five-straight titles, joining Weber State and Sacramento State. The Wildcats claimed seven straight from 1985-91 while Sacramento State won 11 in a row from 2002-12.
The Vandals have upset the top-seeded Lumberjacks as the No. 2 seed in the last two title matches while winning as a No. 3 seed in 2016.
Northern Arizona captured the doubles point with 6-1 wins on courts two and three in Friday's win over Southern Utah (13-11). Ellie Millard and Hanneke Lodewijks earned the victory at No. 2 while Madi Moore and Emilie Haakansson recorded the win on court three.
Adrianna Sosnowska lifted the Lumberjacks to a 2-0 lead in singles play with a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 4 over Charity Sagiao.
Within seconds of each other, Millard and Chiara Tomasetti propelled Northern Arizona into the title match with straight-set wins. Millard took down Zoe Tanti at No. 3 with a 6-1, 6-2 win while Tomasetti recorded the clincher with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Ghita Nassik at line one.
After claiming the doubles point, Idaho was forced to play from behind for a majority of singles play as Weber State (16-8) collected two quick wins on courts four and five.
The Vandals clinched the doubles point with wins coming from Laura Spataro and Maggie Chen (6-1) at No. 3 and Marianna Petrei and Maria Tavares (6-3) at the top spot. Weber State’s Yuuna Ukita and Megan Lombardi won at No. 2 doubles, 6-3.
Lombardi tallied the Wildcats’ first point of the afternoon with a 6-1, 6-2 victory on court five over Marta Magalhaes. Cali Fuller followed for Weber State with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Anna Stefani at No. 4 to put the Wildcats ahead 2-1.
Petrei, a three-time Big Sky MVP, took down Pei-Hsuan Kuo on court one, 7-6 (5), 6-1 before Sara Parker recorded WSU’s third win with a come-from-behind 2-6, 6-1, 7-5 victory at No. 3 over Spataro.
At No. 2 singles, Tavares rallied for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 win over Ukita leading up to Chen’s clincher over Morgan Dickason on court six, 7-5, 4-6, 6-0.
The Big Sky Women’s Tennis Championship match is slated for an 11 a.m. PT start with the winner receiving an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament field. Live stats will be available at bigskystats.com.