HUNTSVILLE, Texas – While Northwestern State has to hope for help to defend its Southland Conference regular season championship heading into the final matches of the 2015 campaign, the Lady Demons hope to sustain momentum heading into tournament play during visits to Sam Houston State and Lamar.
 
NSU (11-8 overall, 7-2 in the Southland) plays Sunday at 1 against Sam Houston (2-14, 1-8) and Monday at 11 at Lamar (9-10, 3-6). The Southland Conference Tournament is hosted by Lamar beginning next Friday.
 
The Lady Demons need losses by co-leaders Nicholls and Stephen F. Austin this weekend to have a chance to tie for the regular-season title, but coach Olga Bazhanova is focused on her team maintaining the level of play it showed in last weekend's dominant win over McNeese State on NSU's Senior Day for Tatiana Larina and Amy Williams.
 
"There is good tennis every weekend around the Southland Conference and we have to play at a high level to succeed," she said. "We have to be focused, one match at a time, to get the wins we need to build momentum for the conference tournament at Lamar next weekend."
 
Larina continues her rise up the NSU record book. Her 53 singles wins shares seventh with Babette Cramer, who finished her career in 1988, and Larina's 63 doubles victories tie her for fifth with Karen Patel (1988-91). A win with No. 1 doubles partner Natalya Krutova will tie Larina with her coach for fourth all-time.
 
Larina's .818 winning percentage (63-14) in doubles is second in school history.