PHOENIX -- In a match that came down to a pair of third-set tiebreakers in the final two singles contests of the day, No. 5-seeded Sacramento State and top-seeded Northern Arizona played a Big Sky Conference Championship semifinal for the ages as the Lumberjacks rallied for a pair of wins in those contests and escape with a 4-3 win over the Hornets on Friday morning at the Phoenix Tennis Center in Arizona.
The loss stalled Sacramento State's run at the league's postseason event, ending the program's season with an 11-11 overall record and a 4-4 mark in conference play. Advancing to the semifinal round for the second consecutive season, the 11 wins are the most since finishing with 11 wins in 2017-18, while the four Big Sky wins are the most since finishing 5-5 in 2018-19.
It's another step in rebuilding the Hornets' program to prominence under second-year head coach Sophie Breault, who took over a team that finished with one win in the season prior to her arrival, won five duals in her first year in 2021-22, and produced double-digit wins for the first time since that previously mentioned 2017-18 campaign this season.
Sacramento State was out of the gates quickly, sweeping through doubles with wins at No. 3 and No. 1 — while leading at the No. 2 spot — for a 1-0 advantage in the contest. Maddy Ferreros and Alexis Johnson opened with a 6-3 win at No. 3 over Emily Bland and Ava Neyestani, followed soon thereafter with a win from Weronika Ejsmont and Best Lee at No. 1 by a 6-4 score over Elinor Beazley and Ana Karen Guadiana.
Switching to singles, Northern Arizona tied things up with a win at No. 4, but Ferreros promptly put her team back in front with a straight-set, 6-3, 6-3, win at No. 2 over Guadiana. The Lumberjacks answered with a straight-set win at No. 6, but Julia Moraes came up big with a win at No. 5, winning a marathon first-set tiebreaker against Neyestani before closing out a, 7-6 (10-8), 6-1 victory.
With Sacramento State now up, 3-2, everyone's attention turned to the final two remaining singles contests with Gorbunova battling Sofia Markova at the top spot and Ejsmont going toe-to-toe with Patrycja Niewiadomska at No. 3.
Both Hornets took early leads in the match thanks to first-set victories, but NAU responded with wins in the second set to even things up. It would be Gorbunova's match that would finish first despite the junior nearly completing a miraculous comeback as she rallied from down 5-2 in the third to with the next four games and go up 6-5. Markova held serve, tying the match at six-all after falling behing 30-love and then taking the first three points in the tiebreaker en route to a 7-3 victory.
Meanwhile, Ejsmont was locked in a battle of her own, briefly leading 3-2 and, later, winning two straight games to rally back from a 5-4 deficit to lead, 6-5. Niewiadomska held off the Hornets' celebration to tie the set at six apiece, but quickly fell behind 3-1 in the tiebreaker. However, Ejsmont could not hold off the charge as Niewiadomska won the next six points to take the 7-3 win and send the Lumberjacks to the championship match.
NCAA WOMEN'S TENNIS
No. 1 Northern Arizona 4, No. 5 Sacramento State 3
April 28, 2023 // Phoenix, Ariz. (Phoenix Tennis Center)
DOUBLES
1. Weronika Ejsmont / Best Lee (SAC) def. Elinor Beazley / Ana Karen Guadiana (NAU), 6-4
2. Mayya Gorbunova / Tsveti Yotova (SAC) vs. Laura Duhl / Patrycja Niewiadomska (NAU), 5-4 unfinished
3. Maddy Ferreros / Alexis Johnson (SAC) def. Emily Bland / Ava Neyestani (NAU), 6-3
Order of finish: 3, 1*
SINGLES
1. Sofia Markova (NAU) def. Mayya Gorbunova (SAC), 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3)
2. Maddy Ferreros (SAC) def. Ana Karen Guadiana (NAU), 6-3, 6-3
3. Patrycja Niewiadomska (NAU) def. Weronika Ejsmont (SAC), 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3)
4. Daryna Shoshyna (NAU) def. Tsveti Yotova (SAC), 6-3, 6-1
5. Julia Moraes (SAC) def. Ava Neyestani (NAU), 7-6 (10-8), 6-1
6. Laura Duhl (NAU) def. Grace McSkimming (SAC), 6-3, 6-4
Order of finish: 4, 2, 6, 5, 1, 3*
