BATON ROUGE – The Northwestern State tennis team opens the dual play section of the 2017 season Saturday against No. 19 LSU with lone upperclassman junior Polina Ivanova likely to lead the team at the No. 1 one singles position.

Junior Polina Ivanova and sophomore Iryna Vardanian were the only two returners to play in opening action of the year at the FGCU Invitational. Vardanian finished the spring tournament on a high note, winning both her doubles and singles matches on the final day.

LSU had a successful 2016 campaign, reaching as high as No. 9 in the ITA/Oracle rankings during the season and making the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

"We are very excited to start the season with our first dual match against a highly ranked team," head coach Olga Bazhanova said. "We will have to play smart and fight hard on every point to be successful."

Two NSU doubles pairings found success at the FGCU Invite and will look to build upon their chemistry in the coming matches. Freshmen Emilija Dancetovic and Judit Castillo picked up their first spring win as Lady Demons while Vardanian and freshman Kateryna Avram also won a doubles match together.

Featuring a roster that will feature three freshmen with talented sophomore Polina Mutel returning from injury, Bazhanova is happy with the way the young team is growing together.
"After last weekend, they seemed positive," she said. "The girls are coming along together as a team and we are looking forward to this weekend as we take on a tough and talented team."

Ivanova, will likely match up against No. 89 Ryann Foster, who is also part of the No. 27 doubles team in the nation, in the top singles spot. Ivanova is aiming to carry her success to the No. 1 singles position from where she held a 16-3 record in the Nos. 4, 5 and 6 positions in 2016.

Live stats will be provided by LSU at http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=159459.