NATCHITOCHES—First it was Judit Castillo Gargallo against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Then it was Patrycja Polanska against Central Arkansas. Now, it was Rhea Verma's time to shine.

The redshirt freshman became the third different Northwestern State player to provide the clinching point at home in a Southland Conference match, and the Lady Demons tennis team won a pair of matches, started by a come-from-behind 4-3 Southland victory over Lamar.

The league-leading Lady Demons (13-2 overall, 5-0 Southland Conference) also defeated Prairie View A&M 4-0 to conclude the 2-0 day.

"What a great college match against Lamar," head coach Patric DuBois said. "Rhea played very well under pressure in the final match on the court.

"A lot of credit to Lamar, who are a very well-coached team by Coach (David) Wong. They put us on our heels throughout the day, but we hung in there to squeak out a tough victory."

Verma won a thrilling three-set match at No. 3 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 against Lamar's Amelie Vossgaetter to hand the decision to NSU. After falling behind in the third set 2-0, Verma came back to win four consecutive to pull in front, and held on. She became the third Lady Demon to reach double digit wins this season (10-3), and remains undefeated in conference play.

"It was my first time clinching and it was a great experience," Verma said. "We had people come out and all my teammates had finished their matches and were there cheering me on. I had a tough second set, as she adjusted to my style and she was playing really aggressive.

"It was a high-quality match, so I was just happy I was able to compete and find a way to win for my team."

After falling in two of the three matches as Lamar surprisingly claimed the doubles point, the Lady Demons once again had to win four singles matches, just as they did last Saturday against Central Arkansas. Senior Polina Mutel tied the score with a convincing 6-3, 6-0 win against Jasmin Buchta at No. 1.

"After losing a tough doubles point, I was very happy with the fight and tenacity of all our players," DuBois said. "We were fortunate to pick up four points with solid play from Polina, Ela, Judit and Rhea."

Perhaps the hottest player in NSU's lineup is junior Ela Iwaniuk. She remained undefeated in SLC play with a dominating 6-3, 6-1 performance against Laura Sola Grau at No. 5. Iwaniuk improved her record to 11-2 on the season. Her win once again tied the score following Lamar's Natalia Molina topping Polanska 6-1, 6-2 

But the Cardinals again went ahead, moving within a point of clinching the match with a No. 2 singles slugfest going 6-4, 6-4, to Lamar's Sanja Jolic over Maria Skyba, leaving NSU with no margin for error. The depth came through once again for the Lady Demons, as Castillo Gargallo won in straight sets at No. 6, 6-3, 6-4, over Milena Belianovich to tie the match. She improved to 4-1 in conference play, and has won four in a row overall.

That set the stage for Verma, whose match was the only one to go three sets. Following a first set 6-3 victory, she fell in the second set 6-3, and dropped the first two games of the decisive set. Then Verma made her push, winning six of the final eight games to keep the Lady Demons unbeaten and in first place in the conference standings.

It was the second straight defeat for Lamar (4-11, 1-4), which fell to 0-8 on the road on the season.

Against Prairie View A&M, NSU compiled shutout victories at No. 2 and 3 by Antonia Blattner/Iwaniuk and Castillo Gargallo/Emilija Dancetovic to earn the doubles point.

In singles, Blattner had little trouble with Jessica Lackey, dominating 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4, to give the Lady Demons the 2-0 lead.

Polanska rebounded from the earlier defeat with a 6-0, 6-3, win against Jimena Duran at No. 3, and Castillo Gargallo finished the match off with a 6-1, 6-1, win over Mahogani Green.

"We had a solid victory against Prairie View A&M after an emotional and physical win against Lamar," DuBois said.

"They will probably win the SWAC and head to the MCAA's, so I am pleased with the way we came out and dictated play in singles and doubles. This was a very tough match and we played well on all courts."

The Lady Demons return to the court Sunday at SMU to finish off a four-match weekend before returning to the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex next Friday when they welcome McNeese.

Northwestern State 4, Lamar 3 
Women's Tennis at Natchitoches, LA – Jack Fisher Tennis Complex 
Singles 
1. Polina Mutel (NSU) def. Jasmin Buchta 6-3, 6-0
2. Sanja Jolic (LU-W) def. Maria Skyba 6-4, 6-4 
3. Rhea Verma (NSU) def. Amelie Vossgaetter 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
4. Natalia Molina (LU-W) def. Patrycja Polanska 6-1, 6-2 
5. Ela Iwaniuk (NSU) def. Laura Sola Grau 6-3, 6-1 
6. Judit Castillo Gargallo (NSU) def. Milena Belianovich 6-3, 6-4
 

Doubles 
1. Jasmin Buchta/Amelie Vossgaetter (LU-W) def. Polina Mutel/Maria Skyba 6-4
2. Laura Sola Grau/Sanja Jolic (LU-W) def. Rhea Verma/Patrycja Polanska 6-4
3. Judit Castillo Gargallo/Emilija Dancetovic (NSU) def. Milena Belianovich/Natalia Molina 6-
 

Match Notes: 
Northwestern State 12-2, 5-0
Lamar 4-11, 1-4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (1,4,5,2,6,3)
T-3:00 A-50

Northwestern State 4, Prairie View A&M 0 
Women's Tennis at Natchitoches, LA – Jack Fisher Tennis Complex 
Singles 
1. Maria Skyba (NSU) vs. Lucia Garcia 6-4, UF
2. Ela Iwaniuk (NSU) vs. Neharika Rama 6-4, UF
3. Patrycja Polanska (NSU) def. Jimena Duran 6-0, 6-3
4. Antonia Blattner (NSU) def. Jessica Lackey 6-0, 6-0 
5. Judit Castillo Gargallo (NSU) def. Mahogani Green 6-1, 6-1 
6. Emilija Dancetovic (NSU) vs. Claudia Islas Medina 6-4, UF
 

Doubles 
1. Rhea Verma/Patrycja Polanska (NSU) vs. Neharika Rama/Mahogani Green UF
2. Ela Iwaniuk/Antonia Blattner (NSU) def. Jimena Duran/Lucia Garcia 6-0
3. Judit Castillo Gargallo/Emilija Dancetovic (NSU) def. Jessica Lackey/Claudia Islas Medina 6-0
 

Match Notes: 
Northwestern State 13-2 
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (4,3,5)
T-1:40 A-45