NATCHITOCHES—Undefeated on its home courts, the Northwestern State women's tennis team will conclude its regular season schedule at 11 a.m. Saturday, hosting 2016-17 Southland Conference titleholder Texas A&M Corpus Christi in a battle for the No. 2 league tournament seeding. 

Only one victory stands in the way of a second-place regular season finish for both the Lady Demons (14-7 overall, 8-2 in the Southland) and the Islanders (14-6, 9-1). 

NSU dropped its opportunity for the league regular season title last weekend (April 14) in a tough 4-3 contest against Central Arkansas. AMCC overwhelmed UCA 7-0 on Thursday in a neutral site match in Abilene, Texas. 

If the Lady Demons win Saturday, they will tie Corpus Christi, but place second and bump the Islanders to third in seeding for next weekend's Southland Tournament due to the head-to-head win. 

Should Corpus Christi overcome NSU, it will earn a share of a third consecutive Southland regular season championship with McNeese (10-1, 15-3). However, the Cowgirls beat the Islanders earlier this season and already own the No. 1 tournament seed. 

"It's always a tough match against Corpus Christi," head coach Patric DuBois said. "They're similar to us. Our players are similar. We all grind, try to find a way to stay in points, try to find a way to win points and don't give away too much to our opponents. 

"So it's going to be a mirror image of two teams playing against each other. I think it's going to be a very long match, and we'll see how it goes." 

The contest will give senior Polina Ivanova a chance to improve to eighth in Lady Demon singles career wins. With a record of 54-25, mostly in the No. 2 position, she needs one more victory to move up a notch from ninth. 

Lady Demon sophomore Judit Castillo is the conference's seventh-most successful singles player with a 13-3 (.812) season record in the No. 5 position. Mutel ranks eighth at 15-4 (.789). Corpus Christi's Luna Dormet is sixth with a 14-3 (.824) mark, one spot behind teammate Marina Vincens Miquel (12-2, .857). 

Ivanova and Mutel pace NSU in doubles play with a 15-2 record at No. 1, with their .882 winning percentage second in the Southland among all doubles tandems. 

The Islanders have defeated the Lady Demons five times in their last eight meetings including two title-claiming triumphs in the 2014 and 2016 final rounds of the Southland tournament. 

NSU posted its second league tournament victory in the program's history in 2013 after prevailing 4-1 against the Islanders. With an unconquered 8-0 2018 home record, the Lady Demons look forward to a final appearance at the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex. 

"It feels great to play at home," junior Polina Mutel said. "We're going to have a lot of people here and huge support, and we're going to feel more confident on our familiar courts. Seeing the people we know, it just feels better." 

"We love the people who come out and support us," DuBois added. "They're very loud and vocal, and they know their tennis. It's a big help, and they've done their job as the results show. We hope this carries into Saturday." 

The match returns AMCC assistant coach Olga Bazhanova to her alma mater. One of the more successful players in Lady Demon history, Bazhanova immediately transitioned to coaching on DuBois' staff, then served as head coach at NSU for the last three seasons before leaving after last season to get married and relocate to Corpus Christi. 

After the regular season finale, the Lady Demons will prepare for the eight-team Southland Tournament to be held in Beaumont, Texas, starting next Friday. The championship match is next Sunday and rewards the winner with an automatic NCAA Tournament berth.