NATCHITOCHES – A pair of dramatic third-set comebacks leading to tiebreaker wins by Andrea Nedorostova and Linda Gamo in the final two singles matches Wednesday lifted Northwestern State to a 4-3 victory over visiting Texas-Arlington in a matchup of the last two Southland Conference women's tennis champions.
 
Nedorostova and Gamo each trailed 6-5 in the third set, but staved off defeat to force decisive tiebreakers. Nedorostova prevailed 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (5) over Giada D'ortona at the No. 4 position to give Gamo a chance to win the match for NSU. The freshman fought off debilitating cramps through much of the third set and won 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (1) in the No. 6 singles slot over Christine Foote.
 
Four of the six singles matches went three sets as the Lady Demons, with four freshman in action, raised their record to 10-3 overall and 4-2 in conference play. UTA, last year's SLC champion, lost its second straight 4-3 decision and dipped to 8-7 overall and 4-2 in conference.
 
“This was our first great overall team victory. We came through in some spots where we haven't previously,” said Lady Demon head coach Patric DuBois. “Everybody had a great effort, starting in doubles. We played real good doubles in all three matches, and won at 1 and 2.”
 
“What do you say about Linda Gamo? An unbelievable performance,” said DuBois. “She started cramping, up 2-0 in the third set, and she lost the next game on point penalties because she was on the ground cramping. She got back up, and we thought we'd see how long she could hang in there. She played a little unorthodox, went for a lot of shots, some slicing and dicing, and somehow stayed on her feet and pulled out a 7-6 victory to win the overall match for us.
 
“Andrea Nedorostova was down 6-5 in the third, in one of the final two matches on. She knew she had to win to get it to Linda to even have a chance, and she came through. Andrea broke serve, got to a tiebreaker and won it 7-5. She played very offensive minded, very confident, very tough. As spectacular as Linda's win was, Andrea's win kept us alive,” said DuBois.
 
After capturing the doubles point, NSU got a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 triumph in the No. 3 singles match by freshman Polina Konop over Natalia Mayuk while UTA swept the top two singles pairings, Maria Martinez-Romero winning 6-0, 6-3 over Lady Demon captain Olga Bazhanova at No. 1 and  Verena Scott topping freshman Tatiana Larina 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 at No. 2. With Bazhanova and Larina owning a combined 20-5 record in singles entering the day, and NSU having struggled for consistency in the lower third of the singles lineup, those outcomes were ominous.
 
“This was our first great overall team victory. We came through in some spots where we haven't previously,” said DuBois. “Everybody had a great effort, starting in doubles. We played real good doubles in all three matches, and won at 1 and 2.”
 
Bazhanova/Konop rolled 8-0 in the No. 1 doubles while Nedorostova/Larina took the No. 2 doubles 8-3, the same score that Gamo and freshman Amy Williams lost by in the No. 3 slot.
 
Konop's singles triumph set the stage before Nedorostova and Gamo stole the show.
 
“Polina Konop had a great win at No. 3 against  a very strong player for UTA (Mayuk), a girl who played pretty high up two years ago at Mississippi State before transferring to UTA, just a very talented player. Again, Polina was really hurting in the third set, but toughed it out to win,” he said.
 
On the heels of a grueling battle in a 6-1 loss to nationally-ranked Stephen F. Austin last Friday, DuBois marveled at the high caliber of play and competitiveness by both teams, and was proud of his squad top to bottom.
 
“Singles was fantastic, again, such a high level of tennis in the first few matches. Olga lost 6-0, 6-3, but every game was close. The first three games of her match took the same amount of time as the first sets in the other matches. Deuce, ad, deuce, ad, just a tremendous battle, and unfortunately it didn't come through for her today.
 
“But our whole team showed that tenacity, and this time we got the lift we needed at the bottom of the lineup to defeat a very, very good UTA team,” he said.
 
Northwestern plays again Sunday at home against Sam Houston State at 11.
 
Northwestern State 4, Texas-Arlington 3
Women's Tennis at the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex
Mar 28, 2012 at Natchitoches, La.
 
Northwestern State 4, UT Arlington 3
Singles competition
1. Maria Martinez-Romero (UTA) def. Olga Bazhanova 6-0, 6-3
2. Verena Scott (UTA) def. Tatiana Larina 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
3. Polina Konop (NSU) def. Natalia Mayuk 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
4. Andrea Nedorostova (NSU) def. Giada D'ortona  7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (5)
5. Nikola Matovicova (UTA) def. Amy Williams 6-4, 7-6
6. Linda Gamo (NSU) def. Christine Foote 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (1)
 
Doubles competition
1. Olga Bazhanova/Polina Konop (NSU) def. Maria Martinez-Romer/Nikola Matovicova  8-0
2. Tatiana Larina/Andrea Nedorostova (NSU) def. Giada D'ortona/Natalia Mayuk 8-3
3. Verena Scott/Christine Foote (UTA) def. Linda Gamo/Amy Williams 8-3
 
Records:
UT Arlington 8-7 (4-2)
Northwestern State 10-3 (4-2)