DENTON, Texas — Mariella Minetti and Olivia Alfredsson grabbed singles victories, but North Texas came away with a 5-2 win Saturday here at the Waranch Tennis Complex.

It was the third consecutive triumph for Minetti and Alfredsson after sweeping their matches this past week.

NSU (2-2) saw its two-match winning streak come to an end but scored as many points against the Mean Green as North Texas had given up all year.

With the win, UNT (4-0) is off to its best start in program history. Of those opponents, three have been from the Southland Conference, and it will play a fourth as a trip to Sam Houston State is next on the schedule.

"Credit North Texas who played very well," head coach Patric DuBois said. "They started off well, very offensive and pushed us back.

"We settled down and played better in a few matches, but you cannot get in a hole against good teams."

The Mean Green jumped out to a fast start, leading 5-0 before Alfredsson and Minetti came away with the two points for the Lady Demons.

Playing at the top of the rotation, Minetti came through with a three-set win against UNT's Alexandra Heczey. After Heczey dominated in the first set 6-1, the freshman came back to win a close second set 6-4 and rolled 6-1 in the third to win the match.

At No. 5, Alfredsson kept up her strong play with another sweep of Kexuan Zhou. Alfredsson came from behind in the first set to take it 7-5 and won the second convincingly 6-2.

The day began with UNT grabbing two doubles matches to win the point. NSU took the No. 1 doubles spot as seniors Ela Iwaniuk and Emilija Dancetovic defeated Heczey and Hala Khaled Badwy. It was the third consecutive victory for the tandem after taking the top LSU doubles team to the brink. For Dancetovic, it was the 37^th doubles victory, which puts her at 28^th all-time in program history in that category.

"I was proud of Emma and Ela today in doubles, who trust the process we do; that was a very solid win," DuBois said. "I'm equally proud of the ladies who were willing to stay out there and grind. It was nice for Mariella to pull out a three-set victory and Olivia in their singles matches by doing just that."

UNT started out strong in the first set of each match, including against Patrycja Polanska at the No. 4 spot. Although Polanska lost, she made it close in the second set, falling 6-4 in the set after losing 6-1 in the first set.

It was the debut of freshman Dorota Szczygielska, who fell at the No. 3 spot, 6-0, 6-2, to Badwy.

Iwaniuk fought well at the No. 2 spot, but ultimately dropped her match to Nidhi Surapaneni 6-3, 6-3.

The Lady Demons continue their three-match road trip next week as they head to Lafayette to take on UL Lafayette on Feb. 8 before playing at Houston on Feb. 9. They return home Feb. 14 against Alcorn, which begins a four-match homestand.
 
Tennis Match Results
Northwestern State vs. North Texas
Feb. 1, 2020 at Denton, TX
(Waranch Tennis Complex)
North Texas 5, Northwestern State 2

Singles
1. Mariella Minetti (NSU) def. Alexandra Heczey (UNT) 1-6, 6-4, 6-1
2. Nidhi Surapaneni (UNT) def. Ela Iwaniuk 6-3, 6-3
3. Hala Khaled Badwy (UNT) def. Dorota Szczygielska 6-0, 6-2
4. Maria Ponomareva (UNT) def. Patrycja Polanska 6-1, 6-4
5. Olivia Alfredsson (NSU) def. Kexuan Zhou 7-5, 6-2
6. Sophia Hummel (UNT) def. Judit Castillo Gargallo 6-0, 6-1

Doubles
1. Ela Iwaniuk/Emilija Dancetovic (NSU) def. Alexandra Heczey/Hala Khaled Badwy 6-4
2. Nidhi Surapaneni/Maria Ponomareva (UNT) def. Patrycja Polanska/Mariella Minetti 6-2
3. Sophia Hummel/Kexuan Zhou (UNT) def. Judit Castillo Gargallo/Olivia Alfredsson 6-2