NATCHITOCHES – The Northwestern State tennis team cruised to a 7-0 victory over Texas-Pan American and won its third straight match Sunday morning at the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex.

 

“We felt that we were the stronger team today and we all played very well,” said head coach Patric DuBois. “We took care of business at every position.”

 

Olga Bazhanova and Polina Konop both improved their singles records to 5-0 on the year for NSU (4-1). Bazhanova defeated UTPA's (1-5) Dana Nazarova 6-1, 6-0 at No. 1 singles, while Konop took care of Suncica Strkic 6-0, 6-0 at the No. 3 position.

 

The duo also stayed unbeaten in doubles, as they ousted Milan Andersen and Strkic 8-3 at the No. 1 spot.

 

“Both [Bazhanova] and [Konop] are playing solid tennis right now, but we expect all of our girls to play solid. We all go hard at every practice and we have to continue to carry that over to our matches,” DuBois said. “If we can transition the atmosphere and skills we show in practice over to our matches then we will be much better off as we move toward conference play.”

 

Amy Williams and Olga Leyshyna bounced back in singles play with victories after very close battles Saturday against Louisiana-Lafayette. Williams breezed past Bianca Garcia 6-0, 6-0 at No. 5 singles, and Leyshyna posted a similar result at No. 6 singles against Cindy Sands, 6-0, 6-1.

 

“It was good to see Amy and Olga [Leyshyna] come back with strong performances today after tough matches yesterday against ULL,” DuBois said. “Hopefully this will be a confidence booster for them in our big match Wednesday against Louisiana-Monroe.”

 

Tatiana Larina and Andrea Nedorostova had impressive wins as well, teaming up at No. 2 doubles to defeat Wanda Bequelin and Nazarova 8-3. Larina defeated Andersen 6-4, 6-1 at No. 2 singles, and Nedorostova bounced Bequelin 6-1, 6-2 at the No. 4 slot.

 

“As a team, we still have to learn to be more patient and work hard for every single point,” DuBois said. “We don't ever want to get out of our system of playing high-percentage tennis.”

 

The Lady Demons will look to win their fourth consecutive match on Wednesday when they travel to UL-Monroe for a 2 p.m. affair. NSU will then open conference play at home on March 3 at 11 a.m. against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

 

Singles Competition

1. Olga Bazhanova (NSU) def. Dana Nazarova (UTPA) 6-1, 6-0

2. Tatiana Larina (NSU) def. Malin Andersen 6-4, 6-1

3. Polina Konop (NSU) def. Suncica Strkic 6-0, 6-0

4. Andrea Nedorostova (NSU) def. Wanda Bequelin 6-1, 6-2

5. Amy Williams (NSU) def. Bianca Garcia 6-0, 6-0

6. Olga Leyshyna (NSU) def. Cindy Sands (UTPA) 6-0, 6-1

 

Doubles Competiton

1. Olga Bazhanova/Polina Konop (NSU) def. Malin Andersen/Suncica Strkic (UTPA) 8-3

2. Tatiana Larina/Andrea Nedorostova (NSU) def. Wanda Bequelin/Dana Nazarova (UTPA) 8-3

3. Lauren Peters/Amy Williams (NSU) def. Bianca Garcia/Cindy Sands (UTPA) 8-2