NATCHITOCHES - For the second match in three days, a freshman stepped up to pick up the match clinching point for the Northwestern State women's tennis team, this time over Southern Mississippi.

The Lady Demons (2-3) set themselves up for a chance to move back to .500 with a Sunday home match against Louisiana Tech by taking out the Golden Eagles (3-3) in a tightly contested 5-2 match.

Freshman Emilija Dancetovic jumped to a quick 1-0 lead with a 6-3 first set win against Elena Roca. Play slowed in the second set where Dancetovic fell behind 2-5 before raucous fans helped reenergize the Serbian native to rally off wins in five straight games, clinching the match for NSU.

Setting up Dancetovic was a pair of hard fought victories on courts No. 2 and 3.

Freshman Judit Castillo controlled both sets in the No. 6 position, winning 6-3, 6-3 over Claudia Castella.

"I'm proud of our freshmen Judit (Castillo) and Emma (Dancetovic)," head coach Olga Bazhanova said. "They were very tough and they stuck with the process."

Sophomore Polina Mutel came from behind against Rikeetha Pereira in the first set to force a tiebreaker at 6-6. She took the tiebreak 7-3 and never looked back, rolling in the second set 6-0.

"We went 0-2 right away in singles and on all the courts we were losing, Bazhanova said. "She was fighting her way back and she just found a way to win,"

Sophomore Iryna Vardanian was in the third set of a grueling match against the Golden Eagles' Alex Kitchen when Dancetovic clinched the match point. That did not stop her from completing the victory lap, finishing off her opponent 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.

"We started pretty slow on all the courts, but I'm proud of the way the girls competed and came out together," Bazhanova said. "They showed great team spirit and they fought hard – I'm very proud of every single one of them."

Falling behind early only to rally and finish strong was not a theme limited to singles competition.

In doubles, the Lady Demons had to assemble a comeback after Mutel and Vardanian dropped the No. 1 position to Kitchen and Carolin Drescher 6-1.

Freshmen Vladislava Litvinova and Kateryna Avram evened the doubles competition to 1-1 with a 6-4 victory over Elena Roca and Tjasa Jerse.

Junior Polina Ivanova and Dancetovic fell behind 5-6 on court two, but fought to force a tiebreak that they would ultimately win 7-1, giving NSU the one-point doubles advantage going into singles.

A break in competition is on the horizon, but La Tech stands in the way with a final weekend match Sunday.

"They are a tough team – we cannot start slow," Bazhanova said. "We have to come out focused and willing to play aggressive against them. The fans were incredible today, they provided a spark to our team and we will need them again tomorrow."

A win against the Bulldogs will put the Lady Demons back at .500 on the season. Play will begin at 2 p.m. at the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex and as always, admission is free.
 

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Northwestern State 5, Southern Miss 2

Singles competition

1. Carolin Drescher (USM) def. Polina Ivanova (NWST) 6-3, 6-2
2. Iryna Vardanian (NWST) def. Alex Kitchen (USM) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
3. Polina Mutel (NWST) def. Rikeetha Pereira (USM) 7-6 (7-3), 6-0
4. Emilija Dancetovic (NWST) def. Elena Roca (USM) 6-3, 7-5
5. Tjasa Jerse (USM) def. Vladislava Litvinova (NWST) 6-1, 6-2
6. Judit Castillo (NWST) def. Claudia Castella (USM) 6-3, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Alex Kitchen/Carolin Drescher (USM) def. Polina Mutel/Iryna Vardanian (NWST) 6-1
2. Polina Ivanova/Emilija Dancetovic (NWST) def. Rikeetha Pereira/Claudia Castella (USM) 7-6 (7-1)
3. Vladislava Litvinova/Kateryna Avram (NWST) def. Elena Roca/Tjasa Jerse (USM) 6-4

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (1,5,6,3,4,2)
Southern Miss 3-3
Northwestern State 2-3