NATCHITOCHES – The Northwestern State women's tennis team aims to carry the momentum of an eight-match win streak into a pair of home conference matches against Nicholls and McNeese State on Sunday at 11 a.m. and Monday at 12 p.m., respectively.
The Lady Demons (8-3, 1-0 Southland) kept the winning streak alive with a clutch four-point comeback against Sam Houston State past Saturday.
Northwestern State is accustomed performing at a high level in tight contests under third year head coach Olga Bazhanova. In her time at the helm, the Lady Demons are 12-5 in matches with the final score being 4-3.
"We are looking forward to this weekend and are ready to get back into the action," said Bazhanova. "We have tough matches ahead of us and have to play smart tennis."
The Lady Demons have turned in strong performances at home this season, winning all five matches by a combined 26-5 score.
"We enjoy playing at home in front of our amazing group of supporters," said Bazhanova. "We have to be to play with 100 percent intensity in every point on every court."
Sophomore Iryna Vardanian and freshman Judit Castillo are a combined 11-3 in singles competition this spring. Vardanian has played every match in the No. 2 position, while Castillo has played all but one match in the No. 6 position.
Junior Polina Ivanova and freshman Emilija Dancetovic have been a key cog in the eight-match winning streak. The doubles pairing has recorded a 7-2 record thus far and their doubles clinching win against the Bearkats a weekend ago was also the match clinching point.
Originally, the match against the Cowgirls (7-6, 2-0) was scheduled for Saturday, but the threat of rain in the area forced the match to be postponed to Monday. McNeese has conference wins over Southeastern Louisiana and New Orleans and is carrying a four-match winning streak into the weekend.
McNeese is led by one of the Southland Conference's bests in Hannah Brett. She holds a 10-2 record in singles competition this season.
Nicholls (6-2, 1-1) opened conference play with a 1-6 loss at New Orleans on February 17, but rebounded this Wednesday with a 4-3 win over Southeastern.
Mariia Kozachok holds a 7-1 singles record for the Colonels, splitting time between the Nos. 3 and 4 positions.
Both matches will be played at the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex and admission to all home Lady Demon tennis matches is free.
