NATCHITOCHES – With a dramatic finish capping a back-and-forth battle, as usual between the Southland Conference's top women's tennis programs of the decade, Northwestern State got three-set singles wins by freshman Rhea Verma and junior Judit Castillo Gargallo for a 4-3 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Friday at the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex.

After Verma finished a 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 triumph over fellow freshman Camille Townsend at No. 3, a few points later Castillo Gargallo provided the match-clinching point in a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win over Vanessa Reinicke.

"When I saw the other match and saw Rhea winning, I knew this was the last match and I felt pressure, but pressure keeps me going even harder," said Castillo Gargallo.

The contest pitted an Islanders program that has won the last three Southland regular-season championships against the Lady Demons, who have played in seven of the nine Southland Tournament finals and eliminated A&MCC from last year's conference tourney on the way to the championship match.

It was the third straight 4-3 match between the teams.

"It's always nice to start out 1-0, especially since it was such a tough first match," head coach Patric DuBois said. "We still have 10 more matches to go, but that was a nice start to the conference season."

The victory was the Lady Demons' seventh in the last eight matches this spring.

NSU (7-2 overall, 1-0 Southland Conference) had to fight from behind on each court to claim the opening doubles point before the singles rally to capture the overall victory over A&MCC (6-3, 0-1).

The Lady Demons' vaunted homecourt advantage was significant on a crisp, cloudy afternoon as NSU improved to 6-0 this season at home.

"The crowd played a huge difference for us," said DuBois. "A lot people came out and it was loud. I really think it helped Rhea and Judit through at the end. It was an exciting atmosphere and it really got the energy higher than it already was. I am so proud of our tennis community."

The afternoon began with NSU coming from behind to win all three doubles matchups. At No. 1, senior Polina Mutel and freshman Maria Skyba fell behind 3-0 and 4-1 but prevailed 7-5 to get the Lady Demons on the board.

Castillo Gargallo and her partner, junior Emilija Dancetovic, as well as Verma and sophomore Patrycja Polanska finished their matches simultaneously, with both finishing 6-4. Each pairing improved to 7-1 this spring.

"Doubles is really important, and as you saw today, it was the difference in the match," DuBois said. "We work on doubles a lot and we try to do the right things. We always trust in our physical talents and if we do the right things, we'll have a chance to win the doubles point each time we go out there."

In singles, the Islanders posted the first two points before junior Ela Iwaniuk squared things at 2-2. The Konarskie, Poland, native had a tough first set against Myu Kageyama that went to a tiebreaker, but came through with a 7-3 victory. She controlled the second set and won in decisive fashion, 6-2.

Mutel was in a tight battle with Carolina Bulatovic, but was toppled 6-4, 6-4 after taking the first set 6-2.

That left Verma and Castillo Gargallo in must-win situations. Verma appeared in control in the final set, but Townsend fought back from a 4-1 deficit to tie. Verma kept her composure and was able to take the final two games.

With the outcome on her shoulders, Castillo Gargallo claimed the last four games of her match to set off an emotional celebration with her teammates.

The Lady Demons take on Lamar (3-8, 0-1) Sunday at 11 a.m. at the Fisher Complex. Lamar fell 5-2 Friday at Central Arkansas.


Northwestern State 4, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 3
Women's Tennis at Natchitoches, LA – Jack Fisher Tennis Complex 

Singles
1. Carolina Bulatovic (AMCC) def. Polina Mutel 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
2. Kei Kato (AMCC) def. Maria Skyba 6-3, 6-1
3. Rhea Verma (NSU) def. Camille Townsend 1-6, 6-2, 6-4
4. Mariya Shumeika (AMCC) def. Patrycja Polanska 6-1, 6-1
5. Ela Iwaniuk (NSU) def. Myu Kageyama 7-6 (7-3), 6-2
6. Judit Castillo Gargallo (NSU) def. Vanessa Reinicke 6-2, 4-6, 6-3


Doubles
1. Maria Skyba/Polina Mutel (NSU) def. Mariya Shumeika/Carolina Bulatovic 7-5
2. Rhea Verma/Patrycja Polanska (NSU) vs. Myu Kageyama/Kei Kato 6-4
3. Judit Castillo Gargallo/Emilija Dancetovic def. Camille Townsend/Maria Maldonado 6-4
 
Match Notes:
Northwestern State 7-2
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi: 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (4,2,5,1,3,6)
T-2:50  A-125