NATCHITOCHES – Dominating singles wins from Natalya Krutova and Aliona Ludutska set the stage for a hard-fought, clinching victory by Polina Ivanova as Northwestern State defeated visiting Southern Mississippi 4-1 Saturday in women's tennis.
 
The reigning Southland Conference champion Lady Demons (2-6) took the doubles point, then captured the three singles victories to end the match, which was curtailed due to cold weather. USM (6-3), which got its point from Elena Roca's No. 6 singles victory, was a set up in the remaining two singles matches when play halted at the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex.
 
Krutova and Ladutska were winners in singles and doubles. Krutova teamed with Tatiana Larina to clinch the doubles point with a 6-4 victory at No. 1 over Carolin Drescher and Alex Kitchen. Ladutska and Emily Kerr were first to finish with their 6-3 win in the No. 3 match over Roca and Kathrin Waidner.
 
Krutova made it 2-0 NSU with her 6-1, 6-0 rout of Lisa Schneider at No. 2. Ladutksa finished soon after, rolling 6-3, 6-0 past Claudia Castella in the No. 3 match.
 
Ivanova ended the day with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Kitchen at No. 5.
 
"I'm happy the way the girls competed. We got very, very good matches from Natalie and Aliona," said NSU coach Olga Bazhanova. "They played their game, and dominated. Polina clinched the match with a very good win for her.
 
"In doubles, we started a little bit slow, although No. 3 (Laduska/Kerr) played well from the beginning. The No. 1 team (Krutova/Larina) picked it up and won, which made the difference, so they did a pretty good job.
 
With Sunday's match against UAB postponed due to the high probability for rain, getting the team win was important heading into next Saturday's Southland Conference opener against Central Arkansas at NSU.
 
"It was a quality win for our team that gets us ready for next week," said Bazhanova. "I am sure we are ready to play and win."
 
The support of the home crowd was valued Saturday and will be a great asset for the Lady Demons next weekend, she said.
 
"We love our fans. We have very good support from the community people who come and watch, even when it's 45 degrees with a 10 mph wind," said Bazhanova. "The conditions weren't the best but our support always is, and we appreciate it very much."

Match Results