NATCHITOCHES—The league-leading Northwestern State Lady Demon tennis team continues its four-match homestand with three matches in two days, starting Thursday, headlined by a Southland Conference date with Lamar at 11 a.m. Friday at the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex.
 
The contest against the Cardinals is a makeup of a rainout on March 3. In addition to Lamar, NSU (10-2 overall, 4-0 Southland Conference) also hosts Louisiana Tech on Thursday at 1:30 and Prairie View A&M Friday afternoon, following the conclusion of the match against Lamar (4-10, 1-3).
 
"Lamar's going to be a real tough match," head coach Patric DuBois said. "They're very enthusiastic and very well coached. David Wong has been there for years and done a good job with his team. Being 4-0, we have a target on our back, so we expect a difficult match."
 
The depth of the rotation has been on display throughout conference play for the Lady Demons, as they are a combined 14-2, including a perfect 4-0 from Nos. 3-6, against Central Arkansas in the 4-3 win last Saturday.
 
Junior Ela Iwaniuk at No. 5 and redshirt freshman Rhea Verma at No. 3 are both 4-0 after straight set victories over UCA. Overall, when playing at the No. 5 spot, Iwaniuk is 8-1 this season, while Verma is a perfect 6-0 at the No. 3 spot.
 
In addition to Iwaniuk and Verma, sophomore Patrycja Polanska and junior Judit Castillo Gargallo round out a strong back of the rotation for the Lady Demons.
 
Polanska, fresh off providing the clinching point in the contest against UCA, is 3-1 in conference play and has won her last three after losing her first conference match against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Castillo Gargallo bounced back from only her second loss of the year to win in straight sets against UCA. She is tied with Iwaniuk for the team-lead with nine wins.
 
The Lady Demons lost their first doubles point of conference play against UCA. The pairing of senior Polina Mutel and freshman Maria Skyba are 4-0 and has won six in a row since dropping its first two matches of the year.
 
"Polina and Maria have played well in all of their doubles matches," DuBois said. "But you never get a light day at No. 1 doubles. We're just executing pretty well right now in all of our No. 1 doubles matches and the results have shown that."
 
Castillo Gargallo and junior Emilija Dancetovic are 3-1 in conference at No. 3 doubles at 9-2 overall. They suffered their first conference loss of the season against UCA.
 
"Judit and I have been here two years together," Dancetovic said. "I think we know each other's position and what to expect from one another and what kind of shots each other will play."
 
Lamar lost its last match against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 5-2, after recording a 4-3 triumph over defending SLC champion McNeese. In last year's meeting, the Lady Demons dominated, winning 7-0 in Natchitoches.
 
Louisiana Tech (4-10) most recently sustained a 7-0 defeat against North Texas. NSU is the sixth SLC team the Lady Techsters have played this year, going 1-4 so far. In last year's meeting, the Lady Demons won 4-1 in Ruston. NSU won its only other meeting with Prairie View A&M 7-0 in 2014. The Lady Demons are the seventh SLC school the Panthers will play this season.
 
Following the homestand, the Lady Demons make a trip to Dallas for a match at SMU Sunday before returning home March 29 for a Southland Conference contest against McNeese.