THIBODAUX—Northwestern State's rotation depth came through again, helping it coast to a 5-2 Southland Conference women's tennis victory at Nicholls' Colonel Tennis Complex Friday.

It is the second straight victory for NSU, and the eighth in the last nine matches.

After winning the doubles point, the Lady Demons (8-2 overall, 2-0 Southland Conference) received singles victories from Nos. 3-6, all in straight sets, to go up 5-0. Nicholls captured the final two points in pro-set victories at Nos. 1 and 2.

Junior Ela Iwaniuk improved to 7-2 on the season, as she made quick work of Daphne Haverkamp rolling to a 6-1, 6-0 romp at No. 5. That was followed by junior Judit Castillo Gargallo's 6-3, 6-4, sweep of Mariia Kozachok.

The Lady Demons made it 5-0 with sweeps by sophomore Patrycja Polanska and redshirt freshman Rhea Verma. Polanska won convincingly 6-2, 6-4 over Lingfeng Gu to earn her first singles win in conference play. Verma did not have much more trouble with Antonia Roessli, as she won 6-3, 6-3.

The match began with NSU taking all three doubles contests to take a 1-0 lead.

"We started the day off with great intensity on all three doubles courts and played well," head coach Patric DuBois said.

At No. 2, redshirt freshman Rhea Verma and sophomore Patrycja Polanska finished first with a dominating 6-1 victory over Gu and Kozachok. The win improved them to 8-1.

The top duo of senior Polina Mutel and freshman Maria Skyba clinched the doubles point when it knocked off Stephanie Barnett and Haverkamp 6-3. The No. 3 pairing of Judit Castillo Gargallo and Emilija Dancetovic also improved to 8-1 with a decisive 6-2 win over Marina Vigil and Roessli to complete the doubles sweep.

Despite the win, DuBois knows there is much to improve upon as the Lady Demons move forward into conference play.

"We got a little sloppy in singles," DuBois said. "We made too many unforced errors today. We have to clean this this up to be the team we want to be and expect to be."

For Nicholls (2-7, 0-3), it was the fifth consecutive loss, all by the score of 5-2.

"While we can play better, Nicholls did a great job forcing us into many of these errors," DuBois said. "In the end, it was a solid team win and we plan to build on the many positives we saw today."

NSU wraps up the weekend road trip with a visit to New Orleans Sunday at 11 a.m. The Lady Demons return home March 16 when they home Central Arkansas at 11 a.m.
 
Northwestern State 5, Nicholls 2
Women's Tennis at Thibodaux, LA – Nicholls Colonels Tennis Complex 

Singles
1. Stephanie Barnett (NICH) def. Polina Mutel 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 10-2
2. Marina Vigil (NICH) def. Maria Skyba 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 10-7
3. Rhea Verma (NSU) def. Antonia Roessli 6-3, 6-3
4. Patrycja Polanska (NSU) def. Lingfeng Gu 6-2, 6-4
5. Ela Iwaniuk (NSU) def. Daphne Haverkamp 6-1, 6-0
6. Judit Castillo Gargallo (NSU) def. Mariia Kozachok 6-3, 6-4


Doubles
1. Maria Skyba/Polina Mutel (NSU) def. Stephanie Barnett/Daphne Haverkamp 6-3
2. Rhea Verma/Patrycja Polanska (NSU) def. Lingfeng Gu/Maria Kozachok 6-1
3. Judit Castillo Gargallo/Emilija Dancetovic (NSU) def. Antonia Roessli 6-2

Match Notes:
Northwestern State 8-2, 2-0
Nicholls 2-7, 0-3
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (5,6,4,3,1,2)