STORY BY MONTANA SPORTS INFORMATION
FLAGSTAFF, AZ – The Montana women’s tennis team came up short in their upset bid against a strong Northern Arizona squad Thursday in Flagstaff, falling 6-1 to the Lumberjacks at the NAU Tennis Center. The ‘Jacks entered the match as last year’s Big Sky runner-up and were picked to finish second in the league again this year in the preseason poll.
The loss puts the Griz at 1-1 in league play so far this season and 4-5 overall, while NAU moves to 1-0 in Big Sky action, and improves to 5-2 overall, with their only two losses coming at the hands of Arizona and No. 24 Arizona State.
“I think it was a good battle today,” said Montana Head Coach Steve Ascher. “It was challenging to play at elevation, but hats off to NAU, they are a solid team.”
Nathalie Joanlanne picked up Montana’s only win of the day, bouncing back to defeat NAU standout freshman CoraLynn Von Dungern in a third set tiebreaker for her fourth win in five matches.
Joanlanne dropped the first set in a tight 7-6 contest, then dominated the second set 6-1. In the tiebreaker, the junior outlasted Von Dungern 10-6 for the win on court three.
Griz star freshman Julia Ronney< made her return to the singles court for the first time since Feb. 3, taking on NAU's Chiara Tomasetti, one half of the Tomasetti/Lodewijks doubles pair who was ranked No. 45 in the nation earlier this season.
Ronney pushed Tomasetti in the first set before falling 7-5, and finally running out of gas in the second set, falling 6-1.
Montana freshman Bianca Bostrom showed more impressive form in her defeat on court five. Bostrom, who had won four of her last five matches going into today, fell behind early in the match, dropping a 6-2 decision in the first set.
In the second set, the Swede picked up four-game victories, ultimately falling 6-4 in a straight-sets loss.
The Griz got off to a slow start in the doubles round, falling 6-1 and 6-2 on courts one and two to give NAU the 1-0 lead early. The 'Jacks split up the powerhouse Tomasetti/Lodewijks pair, opting to play them on different courts.
Montana now travels south to Phoenix to take on Ottawa University on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. at the Surprise Tennis Center.
Northern Arizona 6, Montana 1
Feb 23, 2018 at Flagstaff, Ariz. (Aquatic and Tennis Complex)
Singles competition
1. Chiara Tomasetti (NAU) def. RONNEY, Julia (UM) 7-5, 6-1 2. Hanneke Lodewijks (NAU) def. KINCAID, Cam (UM) 6-2, 6-3 3. JOANLANNE, Nathalie (UM) def. CoraLynn Von Dungern (NAU) 7-6, 1-6, 1-0 (10-6) 4. Ellie Millard (NAU) def. ORFANOS, Catherine (UM) 6-3, 6-2 5. Eirene Granville (NAU) def. BOSTROM, Bianca (UM) 6-2, 6-4 6. Madi Moore (NAU) def. MAHER, Eimear (UM) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Hanneke Lodewijks/Ellie Millard (NAU) def. KINCAID, Cam/BOSTROM, Bianca (UM) 6-1 2. Madi Moore/Chiara Tomasetti (NAU) def. RONNEY, Julia/JOANLANNE, Nathalie (UM) 6-2 3. Eirene Granville/CoraLynn Von Dungern (NAU) def. ORFANOS, Catherine/MAHER, Eimear (UM) 5-2
Match Notes
Montana 4-5 (1-1 BSC)
Northern Arizona 5-2 (1-0 BSC)
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (6,5,4,2,1,3)
