NATCHITOCHES – The Northwestern State women's tennis team closed the regular season on a loss Friday at the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex, falling 5-2 to Southland Conference foe Central Arkansas.
UCA (18-5, 7-2 SLC) turned up the pressure on the Lady Demons (13-8, 6-5) early in the match with a quick 2-0 sweep in doubles. The Sugar Bears cruised in the No. 1 and 2 doubles positions, winning 6-2 and 6-1, respectively.
UCA extended its lead with early wins on courts one and five in singles, ultimately clinching with a 6-3, 6-1 win on court three.
Refusing to go down without a fight in the last home match of the year, sophomore Polina Mutel and freshman Kateryna Avram secured two points for NSU.
We had tough matches in singles and I am happy about the way this team competed today," head coach Olga Bazhanova said. "We play the best tennis under the pressure and it is a strong characteristic of this team."
Mutel fell behind a set with a 7-5 opening set loss, but was in the process of a dominant bounce back performance in the second set when her opponent retired the match.
Playing in the No. 6 singles position, Avram took the first set, but dropped the second. She went on to dominate the tiebreaking final set to win 6-3, 2-6, 10-3.
The most competitive match of the afternoon came from court two. Junior Polina Ivanova and Hee-Jin Oh went back and forth for over two hours. Oh took the first set 7-5, but Ivanova came back with a 7-5 win of her own in the second set. The tiebreak set followed the same trend of the opening sets. Oh took a small early lead only for Ivanova to take the lead into the midway point. Oh went up 9-7 and shortly after secured the win 10-8
"We are very appreciative towards all the fans who came today and supported the girls throughout the year," Bazhanova said. "It makes a huge difference in success of this team when we have a wonderful supportive community.
The Lady Demons have next weekend off to get healthy and prepare for the Southland Conference Tournament beginning April 28.
"If we stay tough with the process, be brave and unified as a team we have higher chances to succeed in the tournament," Bazhanova said.
Central Arkansas 5, Northwestern State 2
Singles competition
1. Pornpawee Pramethong (UCA) def. Iryna Vardanian 6-2, 6-1
2. Hee-Jin Oh (UCA) def. Polina Ivanova 7-5, 5-7, 10-8
3. Polina Mutel (NSU) def. QiLi Ma 5-7, 3-0, retired
4. Amiru Shimoguchi (UCA) def. Judit Castillo 6-3, 6-1
5. Marli Van Heerden (UCA) def. Vladislava Litvinova 6-0, 6-2
6. Kateryna Avram (NSU) def. Rada Manataweewat 6-3, 2-6, 10-3
Doubles competition
1. Pornpawee Pramethong/Hee-Jin Oh (UCA) def. Polina Ivanova/Polina Mutel 6-2
2. QiLi Ma/Rada Manataweewat (UCA) def. Iryna Vardanian/Judit Castillo 6-2
3. Kateryna Avram/
Vladislava Litvinova (NSU) vs. Marli Van Heerden/Amiru Shimoguchi unfinished
Match Notes:
Central Arkansas 18-5
Northwestern State 13-8
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (1,5,4,3,6,2)
