Vote for the NAU Athlete of the Week
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Four athletes have been nominated by the NAU Media Relations office, and now you the fans have the opportunity to vote for the Athlete of the Week. Fans can vote via the poll question on the nauathletics.com home page, as well as the link above. Voting for the week's nominees will be open until the next poll opens on Monday, but the winner will be selected based on the totals on Thursday morning at 10 a.m.
Last week, the women's basketball team earned their first conference win of the season on Thursday, defeating Weber State 71-58, before losing a close battle to conference-leading Idaho State, 49-44 on Saturday. The men's basketball team was on the road and took on Weber State, also the top team in the conference, on Thursday but fell 81-67. They then played Idaho State even in the first half on Saturday, before coming up short in a 78-62 loss. The men's and women's tennis teams also got their seasons underway last week against nationally ranked opponents. The women took a doubles match, but could not knock off No. 59 UC Davis, losing 7-0. Similarly, the men also won a doubles match, yet were unable to upset No. 55 Arizona, falling 7-0 as well.
For the week of January 23, the following four athletes are your nominees for NAU Athlete of the Week.
Men's Tennis:
Dominic Bermudez – So. – Tucson, Ariz.
Bermudez, playing in his hometown, paired with Robert Martin to defeat Carlos Bermudez, his younger brother, and Mario Urquidi of No. 55 Arizona at No. 3 doubles, 8-6. The doubles win at No. 3 was the only victory for NAU on Saturday. Although he lost to Arizona's Andre Vidaller, 6-1, 3-6, 1-0 (10-7), at No. 3 singles, he was the only NAU player to take a set in singles play against the nationally ranked Wildcats.
Men's Basketball:
Michael Dunn – Jr. – Guard – Chandler, Ariz.
Dunn led the team in scoring in both games last week, averaging a team-best 13.5 points per game while shooting 60 percent from the field, including 55 percent from three-point range. He made six three-pointers, most of any Lumberjack on the road swing. Dunn also added four rebounds, three assists and three steals, while starting both games and playing 54 minutes. Against Weber State last Thursday, Dunn served as the primary defender on Damian Lillard, the nation's leading scorer. With Dunn on him, Lillard failed to reach 20 points for just the fifth time this season, scoring 18 points, seven off his season average, in the game.
Women's Basketball:
Trinidee Trice – So. – Forward – Riverside, Calif.
Trice averaged 7.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game while shooting 64% for the week as NAU defeated Weber State and lost to Idaho State. She also had two assists and two steals with just three turnovers and hit a three-pointer in 35 total minutes. She totaled six points and five rebounds on 3-of-6 shooting in NAU's 71-58 win over Weber State. Trice scored nine points on 4-of-5 shooting and added five rebounds and two steals against Idaho State. She was the only player on either team in the game vs. Idaho State to shoot better than 50% from the field.
Women's Tennis:
Johanna Vang – Fr. – Sollentuna, Sweden
Vang and fellow freshman Hannah Stone won in their first collegiate match, defeating No. 59 UC Davis' Nicole Koehly and Dahra Zamudio, 8-1, at No. 2 doubles. The freshmen combined for Lumberjacks' lone victory against the nationally ranked Aggies in Tempe on Friday. In singles, Vang held 2-1 leads in both of her sets, before falling to Lauren Curry, 6-2, 6-3 at the No. 4 spot.
