DALLAS – Led by Southland Conference Player of the Week, Kateryna Piatakova, the Northwestern State tennis team heads to Southern Methodist for its first dual meet of the 2014 season on Sunday beginning at noon.
 
The Lady Demons return to dual-match play after a 14-8 overall 2013 campaign, 6-3 in league play, while capturing the 2013 SLC tournament championship and a bid to the NCAA team tournament, falling 4-0 to No. 9 Alabama. 
 
Having met up just once before, the Lady Demons look for redemption after a tough 6-1 loss to the Mustangs last season.
 
Piatakova showed an impressive outing in her first weekend as a Lady Demon, posting a 3-0 doubles mark and 2-1 in singles play, dropping her last match of the Florida Gulf Coast Lady Eagle Classic last weekend in a third-set tiebreaker with FGCU's Elizabeth Means, 3-6, 6-1, 1-0 (18-16).
 
The Lady Demons return five letterwinners, including 2013 all-conference team members Polina Konop, Tatiana Larina and Natalya Krutova.
 
SMU competes in its first dual match today against Stephen F. Austin, also in Dallas.
 
The Mustangs finished last season ranked 51st in the ITA national rankings and begin this spring ranked 52nd following a highly competitive and successful fall season. SMU notched 14 wins in 2012-2013 as three Mustangs took home All-American Conference honors.
 
NSU continues on the road for the next three weeks, making stops at Southern Mississippi, Alabama-Birmingham, Auburn and LSU, respectively, before hosting Louisiana-Lafayette in Natchitoches on Feb. 22 at ten o'clock.