NATCHITOCHES— Reaching a career milestone few collegiate coaches approach last weekend never occurred to Patric DuBois while it was happening.

Northwestern State's women's tennis coach went about the business of guiding his team to a three-win weekend, topping UL Lafayette 4-1 and dispatching Jackson State and LSU Alexandria in a Sunday doubleheader by 7-0 scores. He only knew it flipped the 2019 Lady Demons' record to 3-1 heading into matches this weekend at UT San Antonio and Texas State.

But the LSUA triumph was a landmark win, career victory number 400, ranking him among the country's most successful active tennis coaches at all levels, with an overall 400-231 dual match record in 24 seasons as a head coach.

 "Congratulations to Patric on achieving such a remarkable milestone," said Greg Burke, NSU's director of athletics since 1996. "He has been a highly successful and respected member of the Southland Conference coaching circle for many years."

In fact, only four coaches in Southland history in any sport have spent more time as a head coach in the league than DuBois.

DuBois is early in his 14th season as head coach at NSU, and his 17th season on the coaching staff. The Long Island native took over the Lady Demons' program from the legendary Johnnie Emmons in 1990 and was an immediate success, departing following the 1994 campaign for a job a UT Arlington, then a Southland member. He coached both men and women from 1997-2003 at UTA before coming back to NSU as director of the new Wellness and Recreation Center in the summer of 2003.

DuBois stepped back into coaching when he accepted the reigns of the Lady Demon program again in 2007. He rapidly elevated it to elite status in the Southland. This decade, NSU has played in the Southland Tournament finals seven of nine seasons, advancing to the NCAA Tournament three times, most recently three seasons ago while DuBois served as assistant coach from 2015-17 to his protégé, former player Olga Bazhanova.

Said Burke: "The fact that his success level has been so sustainable over such an extensive period of time is a tribute to his work ethic, knowledge of the game and ability to motivate his players to achieve at times even more than they believe they can. He has been an inspiration to so many tennis players and is a blessing to have as a member of the NSU athletic program."

He is the active Division I wins leader among Southland Conference coaches, and prefers to attribute that accomplishment with those who have contributed to his success.

"When you surround yourself with outstanding student-athletes, assistant coaches, administrators, and have a great faculty/staff and community to sell," DuBois said, "you can reach these numbers if you stay around long enough.  I have been fortunate to have all of this help."

As the Lady Demons' head coach from 1989-94 and from 2006-2014, he led them to a combined six Southland Conference regular season and tournament titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances. He has coached a pair of Southland Conference Players of the Year, Ljudmila Pavlov in 1994, and most recently, Polina Mutel in 2018.

In his first stint at NSU, he coached two future N-Club Hall of Fame inductees, Karen Patel and Vicky Simms Newsom. More from his last 12 seasons with the program, and perhaps upcoming ones, will doubtlessly join that elite club.

As a young coach, DuBois improved the team each year, ultimately leading up to his first Southland championship team in 1994.

"What separates great coaches from mediocre ones, and what distinguishes Patric from other collegiate coaches," Newsom said, "is his compassion and understanding of what it takes to make tennis players better than they dared to dream.

"He knows that a coach is not there necessarily to teach new skills to players, but to take the skills that each player has within them, and guide them to excellence on the court, in the classroom and in life."

After Bazhanova got married and departed following the 2017 season, he stepped back into the head coaching role last year when NSU led the league much of the season before finishing 8-3 in conference play. The 2018 team also won 16 matches overall, third best in school history.

DuBois is a nine-time SLC Coach of the Year and his teams have won 11 SLC Tournament championships, 13 regular-season titles, to go along with the nine NCAA Tournament appearances.

While his credentials establish him as a legendary tennis coach, his impact on those involved in his remarkable record goes far beyond wins and losses.

"What makes Patric so special is that for over 25 years he has changed lives," Newsom said. "It's not just tennis for him. He cares about the lives he has changed."

As the Lady Demons move forward this season and in the future, they know they are in good hands with DuBois at the helm.

"Northwestern and the athletes he coaches are fortunate that he continues to direct the tennis program to a high level of success that focuses extensive positive attention on the university," said Jerry Pierce, NSU's longtime vice president for external affairs, and an avid tennis supporter.

This weekend, both Lady Demon matches in central Texas are slated for 11 a.m. starts.

UTSA (4-4) has won two straight after dropping consecutive matches against Southland foes Lamar and Sam Houston State. The Roadrunners also played Southland foe Abilene Christian and defeated the Wildcats 5-2. Texas State (2-2) has lost two straight, but defeated LSU-Alexandria and Southland Conference opponent Nicholls to start the season.

After the weekend competition, the Lady Demons return to the courts with a trip to face North Texas Feb. 22. Their next home match is March 1 in a key Southland battle against Texas A&M Corpus-Christi.