THIBODAUX – Northwestern State had to wait a day before making a Southland Conference women's tennis visit to Nicholls, but once the match began Monday, the Lady Demons got the job done quickly.

Forced to wait a day due to a weather postponement Sunday, NSU won for the seventh time in eight outings, posting a 7-0 victory in just over two hours to remain atop the conference standings. The result expanded NSU's record to 8-5 overall and 4-0 in the Southland heading toward a home weekend with matches at the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex Saturday against Southeastern Louisiana and New Orleans on Sunday.

The Lady Demons secured the doubles point with two convincing wins, then took every singles match in straight sets, capping the sweep with the most competitive battle of the day, a 6-4, 7-6 (2) outcome for Polina Ivanova in the No. 2 contest over Lingfeng Gu.

At No. 1 singles, Polina Mutel posted a solid 6-2, 6-4 victory over 2015 Southland Player of the Year Stephanie Barnett.

"We did a very good job today of utilizing the windy conditions to our advantage," said NSU coach Patric DuBois. "We beat a good, well-coached Nicholls team by having the willingness to make another ball in tough conditions."

Nicholls fell to 8-4 overall, 1-2 in the Southland.

The Lady Demons broke on top when Emilija Dancetovic and Ela Iwaniuk finished a 6-0 victory at No. 3 doubles shortly after Judit Castillo and Kateryna Avram posted a 6-1 decision in the No. 2 match.

Castillo took the No. 5 singles 6-2, 6-1 for a 2-0 Lady Demons' lead.

Mutel's impressive victory made it 3-0 NSU and quickly, the Lady Demons secured the overall outcome when Avram completed a 6-4, 6-2 decision in the No. 6 match.

Dancetovic was a 6-3, 6-2 winner at No. 3 and soon after, Iwaniuk finished a 6-2, 6-3 triumph at No. 4.

Avoiding a super tiebreaker for the third set, Ivanova powered to a 7-2 victory in the second set breaker to complete the NSU shutout.

"We played very well," said DuBois.
 
Northwestern State 7, Nicholls 0
Colonel Tennis Complex, Thibodaux, LA
 
 Singles competition
1. Polina Mutel (NSU) def. Stephanie Barnett 6-2, 6-4
2. Polina Ivanova (NSU) def. Lingfeng Gu 6-4, 7-6 (10-2)
3. Emilija Dancetovic (NSU) def. Mariia Kozachok 6-3, 6-2
4. Ela Iwaniuk (NSU) def. Marina Vigil 6-2, 6-3
5. Judit Castillo (NSU) def. Changwei Wei 6-2, 6-1
6. Kateryna Avram (NSU) def. Anastasia Kuzevanova 6-4, 6-2
 
Doubles competition
1. Stephanie Barnett/Lingfeng Gu (NICH) vs. Polina Mutel/Polina Ivanova 4-4, unfinished
2. Judit Castillo/Kateryna Avram (NSU) def. Marina Vigil/Mariia Kozachok 6-1
3. Emilija Dancetovic/Ela Iwaniuk (NSU) def. Changwei Wei/Anastasia Kuzevanova 6-0
 
Match Notes:
Northwestern State 8-5, 4-0 SLC Nicholls 8-4, 1-2 SLC
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (5, 1,6,3,4,2)