NATCHITOCHES —Capping an unbeaten home weekend, Northwestern State did not lose a set Sunday, dispatching Jackson State and LSU-Alexandria, each by 7-0, at the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex.

Coupled with a 4-1 win Saturday over UL Lafayette, the Lady Demons rose to 3-1. Despite the shutouts, JSU and LSUA were able to keep several matches competitive, particularly at the top spot.

"Both of our opponents are pretty solid," head coach Patric DuBois said. "Jackson State's got a very good chance of winning their conference championship and LSUA's always a highly ranked NAIA team."

Freshman Maria Skyba, playing the No. 1 singles slot, had to fight for a well-earned 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) win over Jackson State's Lucia Solis, then rallied from an early deficit in the first set against LSUA's Miljana Milojevic to prevail 6-4. She rolled in the second set 6-1 to complete the sweep.

"I am very happy with Maria's play today," DuBois said. "She moved really well and struck the ball really clean. She played smart out there against two really tough opponents and I believe she wore them down with aggressive consistency and ended up with two good wins."

Once again, the doubles points were owned by the Lady Demons, as they won all six doubles matches and four of them were decided by four games or more. Juniors Judit Castillo Gargallo and Emilija Dancetovic dominated again in the No. 2 position, winning both matches 6-2, against JSU's Oni Jones and Lucia Placidi and LSUA's pairing of Patricia Martinez Molina and Patricia Perez.

"Judit and Ema have known each other for a couple of years now," DuBois said. "They're like one person moving together out there. It's beautiful to watch."

Sophomore Patrycja Polanska and redshirt freshman Rhea Verma were a dominant pair, as well, including a convincing 6-0 win over LSUA's Marie Cool and Miljana Milojevic.

"Pati is my best friend," Verma said. "In doubles, it is very important to be able to communicate well with your teammate, and Pati and I are able to do that, so that is one of the reasons we play so well together."

In addition to winning two doubles matches, Castillo Gargallo continued to impress at the No. 6 spot, crushing her two opponents, only losing two games in wins over JSU's Alexandra Martinez 6-1, 6-1, and LSUA's Carolina Guerrero 6-0, 6-0.

Junior Ela Iwaniuk had a strong performance out of the No. 5 spot Sunday, winning 6-2, 6-3 over JSU's Ariel Dickson, and matching Castillo Gargallo by also winning 6-0, 6-0 against Martinez Molina.

Verma was overpowering, notching her first singles wins of the season by cruising over JSU's Oni Jones 6-0, 6-2, and LSUA's Niamh Packer 6-2, 6-2.

Also scoring her first dual match singles victories of the season was freshman Antonia Blattner, who won both her matches in her spring debut. She controlled both of her matches, winning 6-2, 6-2 over JSU's Lily Zhang and 6-1, 6-3 over LSUA's Katheryne Campos.

Northwestern State travels to Texas for a pair of matches Saturday and Sunday at UTSA and Texas State. Both matches start at 11 a.m. The Lady Demons return to the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex March 1 when they start conference play with a showdown against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

 
NSU 7, Jackson State 0
Singles

1. #114 Maria Skyba (NSU) def. Lucia Solis 7-5, 7-6 (7-5)

2. Rhea Verma (NSU) def. Oni Jones 6-0, 6-2

3. Patrycja Polanska (NSU) def. Nina Zhang 6-4, 6-4

4. Antonia Blattner (NSU) def. Lily Zhang 6-2, 6-2

5. Ela Iwaniuk (NSU) def. Ariel Dickson  6-2, 6-3

6. Judit Castillo (NSU) def. Alexandra Martinez 6-1, 6-1

Doubles

1. Patrycja Polanska/Rhea Verma (NSU) def. Lucia Solis/Alexandra Martinez 6-4

2. Judit Castillo/Emilija Dancetovic (NSU) def. Oni Jones/Lucia Placidi 6-2

3. Antonia Blattner/Maria Skyba (NSU) def. Ariel Dickson/Nina Zhang 6-0   NSU 7, LSU Alexandria 0   Singles   1. #114 Maria Skyba (NSU) def. Miljana Milojevic 6-4, 6-1 2. Rhea Verma (NSU) def. Niamh Packer 6-2, 6-2 3. Patrycja Polanska (NSU) def. Marie Cool 6-3, 6-3 4. Antonia Blattner (NSU) def. Katheryne Campos 6-1, 6-3 5. Ela Iwaniuk (NSU) def. Patricia Martinez Mo 6-0, 6-0 6. Judit Castillo (NSU) def. Carolina Guerrero 6-0, 6-0   Doubles   1. Rhea Verma/Patrycja Polanska (NSU) def. Marie Cool/Miljana Milojevic 6-0 2. Judit Castillo/Emilija Dancetovic (NSU) def. Patricia Martinez Mo/Patricia Perez 6-2 3. Antonia Blattner/Ela Iwaniuk (NSU) def. Katheryne Campos/Niamh Packer 7-5