NATCHITOCHES -- For the first time in 2020, the Northwestern State tennis team plays at home as it welcomes LSU-Alexandria for a doubleheader Saturday.

The first match begins at 11 a.m. and the second is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.

NSU (0-1) is coming off a 7-0 defeat in its dual match opener to LSU, a top-30 team nationally.

This is the first match of the season for LSUA, which went 8-5 last season and lost in the second round of the NAIA Tournament to Keiser (Fla.) University.

The Generals are ranked No. 15 in the NAIA preseason polls.

"LSUA is a very strong NAIA team," head coach Patric DuBois said. "I expect a really good, competitive match in both parts of the doubleheader."

Last season, the Lady Demons played LSUA twice and swept both matches. The teams have met six times previously with NSU sweeping all six matches.

Senior Emilija Dancetovic is happy to be back in Natchitoches for the first home matches of the season.

"I am really excited for my last home opener ever," Dancetovic said. "We really like the home matches, especially because of our home crowd and our supporters."

Alongside Ela Iwaniuk, Dancetovic nearly defeated LSU's No. 1 doubles team of Eden Richardson and Nina Geissler. They had a late lead before LSU came back and won a tight match. Richardson was a part of a doubles team that won the 2018 NCAA championship.

In the first dual match of their careers, freshmen Mariella Minetti and Olivia Alfredsson acquitted themselves well against the Tigers. Alfredsson was at the No. 4 spot and took Richardson, the reigning Louisiana Sports Writers Association Player of the Year, to the brink.

Alfredsson won the second set after losing the first, forcing a pro-set, which Richardson came out on top.

"Olivia is a workhorse in practice every day," DuBois said. "You have to earn every point against her, and she made Richardson earn every point against her. As the match went on, she started playing better and snuck out that second set."

Minetti was the No. 1 player for the Lady Demons and was matched against a top-50 player from LSU and held her own against Taylor Bridges, but ultimately fell 6-0, 6-2.

Senior Judit Castillo Gargallo competed well in a 6-2, 6-4 defeat at the No. 5 spot. The Teruel, Spain, native has 42 career singles wins, which is knocking on the door of the top 20 in program history. In 2019, she finished with a record of 15-4, ending the season on a three-match winning streak.

Iwaniuk, a fellow senior, also had a strong 2019, finishing 17-4 and earning a second-team All-Conference nod. She dropped her first match to LSU's Safiya Carrington, the No. 61-ranked player in the country. After falling 6-1 in the first set, she lost in a tight second set 6-4.
 
Following the doubleheader, the Lady Demons hit the road for a three-match road trip, beginning Feb. 1 at North Texas. NSU returns to Natchitoches on Feb. 14 when it plays Alcorn at the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex.