NATCHITOCHES – The young Northwestern State women's tennis team plays host to a pair of high-standing Southland Conference foes Friday and Saturday at the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex.
 
The Lady Demons host New Orleans Friday and Southeastern Louisiana Saturday in a pair of 11 a.m. matches at the Fisher Complex.
 
NSU, with four newcomers on the squad, is 5-9 overall and 1-3 in the Southland Conference. The Lady Demons have won four of their last six, but have dropped the last two in a pair of close decisions to league unbeaten A&M-Corpus Christi and Stephen F. Austin.
 
UNO is 8-2 overall and 4-1 in the Southland. SLU is 10-4 overall and 5-1 in conference play going into a Friday visit to Stephen F. Austin.
 
Second-year coach Olga Bazhanova said the Lady Demons are geared up to play strong competition on Easter weekend.
 
"We are ready to compete and play well this weekend as we are going to have two tough matches. Both teams are talented and have been getting good results," she said.
 
"Our girls are getting stronger and it is very important for us to stay mentally tough and anticipate well against both teams."
 
Freshman Polina Mutel, who played very well in a tough No. 3 singles win against SFA, leads the team with eight singles victories (8-5 overall, 7-5 at No. 3). Sophomore Polina Ivanova is 7-2 in the lower three singles positions while freshman Iryna Vardanian is 7-7, all but one match at No. 2.
 
In doubles, senior Natalya Krutova is 9-3 at No. 1, including 7-1 with Ivanova, who is 8-1 overall. Vardanian is 6-3 and Mutel is 5-4.

With her singles win Monday, her fifth in 10 matches this season, Krutova moved into a tie for sixth with N-Club Hall of Fame member Karen Patel in career wins (56) in school history. She is two shy of the 58 by Shirley Echaiz from 1979-82. In doubles, she is within one victory of Patel's 63 that ranks sixth all-time at NSU.
 
Bazhanova said that NSU's recently-postponed visit to Abilene Christian has been rescheduled for next Wednesday at 4 o'clock.
 
Following the Saturday match against SLU, the Lady Demons have only one more home weekend, April 9-10.