Men’s Tennis Rallies to Beat St. Mary’s, 4-3

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Freshman Hugo Ramadier rallied to win a third-set tiebreak at No. 4 singles to break a 3-3 tie and give NAU a 4-3 victory over St. Mary’s on Sunday in Las Vegas. The Lumberjacks won four singles matches to improve to 3-2 on the season while St. Mary’s dropped to 0-4.

In doubles play, sophomores Robin Pezzutto and Andrew Reiff posted an 8-6 win at No. 3, but St. Mary’s picked up victories at No. 1 and 2 to open the match with the doubles point.

Reiff rebounded from his first singles loss of the season on Saturday to top St. Mary’s junior Lucas Tirelli, 6-1, 0-6, 7-5 at No. 1 singles on Sunday. Freshman Patrick Schimmelbauer claimed a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 2, while sophomore Ben Lantz won his first dual match of the season with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 victory at No. 6. Wins by the Gaels at No. 3 and 5 left the match up to the No. 4 spot, where Ramadier battled St. Mary’s sophomore Gavin Leon. After dropping the first set, 3-6, Ramadier battled back for a 6-4 second-set win. The third set would be pushed to a tiebreak before Ramadier eventually prevailed to claim the set, 7-6 (8-6), and win the match for the Lumberjacks.

“This weekend was all about learning how to play at low altitude,” assistant coach Rich Paulosky said after his team played its third match in as many days in Las Vegas. “We learned a lot about what it takes to win at low altitude so hopefully that will help us the rest of the season. It was a great learning experience for the guys.”

The Lumberjacks will return to high-elevation matches as they head to Colorado for their next-two duals, starting Saturday, February 13, at Air Force at 10:00 a.m.