CONWAY, Ark. – Northwestern State tennis split two matches Sunday, falling to Central Arkansas 4-3 in the Southland Conference opener for the Lady Demons before dispatching of Arkansas Tech 6-1.

Against Central Arkansas, NSU (2-7, 0-1 SLC) nearly rallied from a doubles' point loss, but the Sugar Bears won two singles matches in three sets to protect their advantage.

NSU's Iryna Vardanian (No. 2 spot) and Barbora Kollarova (No. 4 spot) each forced third sets after dropping the opening set, but UCA's No. 2 Xylia Chunan Xiang (6-4, 4-6, 6-3) and No. 4 Amiru Shimoguchi (6-3, 5-7, 6-3) rebounded in the final stanza to help UCA to the win.

Polina Ivanova captured a three-set victory for NSU at the No. 5 position by defeating Marli Van Heerden (6-3, 1-6, 6-1).

NSU's Polina Mutel earned the No. 3 point by besting QiLi Ma (6-3, 6-4), while Alzbeta Veverkova took the No. 6 point by beating Rada Manadaweewat (6-4, 6-3).
UCA's Nataly Yoo beat Natalya Krutova (6-2, 7-5) in the top position.

Krutova/Ivanova won NSU's lone doubles point with a 6-2 win against Yoo/Shimoguchi.

"It was a dog fight out there today," said NSU tennis coach Olga Bazhanova. "After losing the doubles point, the girls came back and fought hard at each position.
"The scores speak for themselves. I give a lot of credit to UCA because even though they are young, they played more consistent on deciding points. Polina Mutel and Alzbeta Veverkova played smart and aggressive today."

Facing NCAA Division II Arkansas Tech, the Lady Demons blitzed through singles' play after dropping the doubles' point.

NSU took all six singles matches led by Mutel's 6-0, 6-0 sweep at No. 2.

Vardanian won at No. 1 (6-0, 6-2), Kollarova at No. 3 (6-3, 6-2), Ivanova (6-1, 6-0) at No. 4, Alzbeta Veverkova at No. 5 (6-0, 6-3) and Ivic at No. 6 (6-1, 6-0).

Mutel/Vardanian took NSU's one doubles point with a 6-4 win.

Mutel extended her singles winning streak to five matches with two wins, while Ivanova (three wins) and Ivic (two wins) have streaks of their own.