SAN MARCOS, Texas – As the task of defending their 2014 Southland Conference tennis championship approaches its start in a couple of weeks, the Northwestern State Lady Demons square off against a pair of former league rivals this weekend with visits to Texas State and UT San Antonio.
 
Texas State hosts NSU Saturday followed by a Sunday match at UTSA. Both have an 11 a.m. first serve.
 
NSU (1-4) has lined up against strong competition, including undefeated SMU, nationally-ranked LSU and a North Texas squad which was in the ITA rankings earlier this season. That's by design, said first-year coach Olga Bazhanova, whose team won at North Texas last weekend.
 
"We are still playing tough non-conference matches. We will have good, competitive tennis this weekend at UTSA and Texas State. It's important for us to stay focused and play aggressive tennis against both teams," she said.
 
Texas State (2-3), coached by former Lady Demon standout Tory Plunkett, improved to 2-3 Friday with a come-from-behind 4-3 triumph at home over Texas-Pan American.
 
UTSA (3-3) fell 4-0 Thursday on the road to NSU's fellow Southland Conference member Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
 
Senior Tatiana Larina and junior Natalya Krutova top NSU's lineup.