Men’s Tennis Moves into Second Place in Big Sky Standings

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Jaco Visagie pulled out a narrow three-set win over Eastern Washington’s Dan Pez (5-7, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4) to clinch a 4-3 win for Northern Arizona men’s tennis on Saturday at the Flagstaff Athletic Club. With the victory, the Lumberjacks moved into second place in the Big Sky Conference standings.

NAU (7-15, 5-1 BSC) picked up its biggest win of the season edging out Eastern Washington (12-8, 5-2 BSC) in a five-hour marathon match.

“This was a huge win for us,” said director of tennis Kim Bruno. “We came out a little shaky in the doubles and lost that point but the guys really came out, proved themselves and stepped up.”

NAU won four singles matches after losing the doubles point to secure its fifth conference win of the season. With the score knotted at 3-3, Visagie battled back after dropping the first set to clinch the match.

“This is what we have been talking about the last couple weeks,” Bruno said. “We are pumped and headed in the right direction that’s for sure.”

The Lumberjacks posted their first win over the Eagles since 2005 and also wrapped up its home schedule with a perfect 5-0 record.

NAU will conclude conference play with road matches against Montana on Friday, April 10 at 10 a.m. and Saturday, April 11 at 3 p.m. Both matches will be played in Bozeman, Mont.

Match 22: NAU 4, Eastern Washington 3
Apr 04, 2009 at Flagstaff, Ariz.
(Flagstaff Athletic Club)

Singles competition
1. REIFF, Andrew (NAU) def. MAM, Pannhara (EWU) 6-2, 6-3
2. ARENA, Chris (NAU) def. RIEGO DE DIOS, Nico (EWU) 6-2, 6-4
3. SCHRAEDER, Kyle (EWU) def. PEZZUTTO, Robin (NAU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
4. FLODBERG, David (NAU) def. KARAS, Art (EWU) 4-6, 6-4, 7-5
5. VISAGIE, Jaco (NAU) def. PEZ, Daniel (EWU) 5-7, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4
6. SANCHEZ, Julian (EWU) def. POWELL, Brelin (NAU) 6-4, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. RIEGO DE DIOS, Nico/SCHRAEDER, Kyle (EWU) def. FLODBERG, David/POWELL, Brelin (NAU) 8-6
2. PEZZUTTO, Robin/REIFF, Andrew (NAU) def. PEZ, Daniel/SANCHEZ, Julian (EWU) 8-4
3. ANDERSON, Kevin/KARAS, Art (EWU) def. ARENA, Chris/VISAGIE, Jaco (NAU) 9-8

Match Notes:
Eastern Washington 12-8, 5-2 BSC
Northern Arizona 7-15, 5-1 BSC