DALLAS — The Northwestern State Lady Demon tennis team puts a seven-match winning streak on the line when it takes on SMU Sunday at noon at the SMU Tennis Complex.

It is the fourth match of the weekend for the Lady Demons (13-2), following wins against Louisiana Tech, Lamar and Prairie View A&M. This is the last non-conference match of the season.

SMU (5-9) is coming off a 6-1 win against Dartmouth on Friday, which snapped a six-match losing streak, with four of those defeats coming to nationally-ranked foes.

The teams met last year, and the Mustangs won 6-1 in Dallas. Polina Mutel provided the only point for the Lady Demons with a 6-1, 7-5, win at the No. 1 spot. These teams also were involved in the Metroplex Mania to start the spring season.

SMU and NSU have two mutual opponents, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Tulane. SMU beat both by a combined score of 13-0, while NSU lost 4-3 to Tulane and defeated Corpus Christi 4-3.

"SMU is a very good team," head coach Patric DuBois said. "They're a top 30 caliber team. They beat USC earlier this year, and have several 4-3 losses to highly ranked teams.

"It will be a very difficult match for us, and we'll have to come out firing from each spot to do well against SMU, but we're looking forward to it."

Redshirt freshman Rhea Verma looks to continue her strong play following her thrilling three-set win Friday against Lamar, which was the clinching point in the 4-3 triumph. She is one of three players with double-digit wins (10-3) on the Lady Demons, including a perfect 7-0 at the No. 3 spot.

Judit Castillo Gargallo leads the team in wins with 12, and has won four consecutive and is 9-1 at No. 6. Perhaps the Lady Demon who is playing the best is junior Ela Iwaniuk, who is 11-2 and has registered six consecutive victories.

Reigning Southland Player of the Year Polina Mutel has won two of three matches after a convincing win at No. 1 against Lamar.

For SMU, Liza Buss, who has played nine matches at the No. 1 and four at No. 2, is No. 114 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings.

"SMU is a very tough team," Verma said. "Four of the girls played them at the start of the season. We know what to expect. We're both very aggressive and we look forward to a tough matchup, and hopefully it goes our way."

NSU returns to the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex next Friday when it plays McNeese, followed by a match next Sunday against Southeastern Louisiana.