PHOENIX— Idaho women's tennis four-year reign as champion of the Big Sky Conference came to an end in Saturday's title match, dropping a 4-0 decision to postseason rival Northern Arizona.

Proving to be a launching pad, Northern Arizona got out to a 1-0 lead after defeating the Vandals at doubles No. 2 and 3. Seniors Marianna Petrei and Maria Tavares posted Idaho only doubles win by the score of 6-3 on court one.

In singles, the Vandals looked to make a comeback, but the Lumberjacks kept up their momentum earning three wins to clinch the Big Sky title. In a matchup between the top two players, Petrei battled to keep the Vandals' chances of a fifth league title alive, but instead was handed her first loss to a Big Sky opponent in her career, 6-1, 6-2. The final three courts we not played out and recorded as unfinished.

QUOTE: Babar Akbar, head coach
"Today was a tough loss to a very good team, and they played amazingly well. We fought on each court, but I think they just was the better game today. They deserved to win."

"I'm very proud of the kids we've had. They've been a fantastic group of kids who put in the hard work, and to our seniors who have dedicated four years to an amazing run with that Idaho. I am really proud of the kids. I know it was not the results we wanted, but you cannot ask for a better group of kids, a better group of competitors, student athletes, and they are great representatives of the university. We're looking forward to getting back to it next year."
 
Tennis Match Results
#2 Idaho vs #1 Northern Arizona
4/27/2019 at Phoenix, Ariz.
(Phoenix Tennis Center)
 
#1 Northern Arizona 4, #2 Idaho 0
 
1. Chiara Tomasetti (NAU) def. Marianna Petrei (IDAHO) 6-1, 6-2
2. Hanneke Lodewijks (NAU) vs. Maria Tavares (IDAHO) 6-3, 5-2, unfinished
3. Ellie Millard (NAU) def. Laura Spataro (IDAHO) 6-1, 6-0
4. Adrianna Sosnowska (NAU) vs. Anna Stefani (IDAHO) 3-6, 6-3, 1-0, unfinished
5. Emilie Haakansson (NAU) def. Marta Magalhães (IDAHO) 6-0, 6-3
6. Madi Moore (NAU) vs. Maggie Chen (IDAHO) 6-3, 2-3, unfinished
 
1. PETREI, Marianna/TAVARES, Maria (IDAHO) def. Chiara Tomasetti/Adrianna Sosnowska (NAU) 6-3
2. Ellie Millard/Hanneke Lodewijks (NAU) def. STEFANI, Anna/MAGALHAES, Marta (IDAHO) 6-0
3. Madi Moore/Emilie Haakansson (NAU) def. SPATARO, Laura/CHEN, Maggie (IDAHO) 6-2
 
Match Notes:
#2 Idaho 13-9, 8-2 BSC
#1 Northern Arizona 15-8, 9-1 BSC
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (3,5,1)
Big Sky Championship