NATCHITOCHES – Ela Iwaniuk's singles and doubles victories paced the Northwestern State as the Lady Demons earned their fifth straight win Sunday, 4-0, against UTSA at the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex.

"This was a very good college tennis match from both teams," head coach Patric DuBois said. "UTSA made a few more balls than we did to start out doubles and our girls just kept battling in all three positions to squeak out the point."

It's the fifth straight victory for NSU (7-3), shutting out three of those opponents. Dating to last season, the Lady Demons have won seven consecutive home matches, which is the 10^th longest streak in program history.

UTSA (5-5) has dropped two consecutive contests following its three-match winning streak, which included a triumph over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Iwaniuk, a senior from Konarskie, Poland, controlled her match in singles after helping NSU earn a comeback doubles point.

In singles, she fell behind 2-1 against Laura Cabrera but battled back to win four consecutive games and emerge with a 6-3 victory. She controlled the second set as well, not letting Cabrera back in it, as Iwaniuk emerged with a 6-3, 6-3 victory to put NSU in front 2-0. It is the third straight win for Iwaniuk.

"I was trying to be aggressive from the first point," Iwaniuk said. "I was trying to control basically what I wanted to do. I had a plan to control how I did."

To begin the contest, UTSA jumped out early in doubles, leading all three by identical 4-1 margins. At No. 2, the tandem of Patrycja Polanska and Mariella Minetti were also behind 5-3 before NSU came back to win four consecutive games to tie the doubles portion at 1-1, setting it up for Iwaniuk and partner Emilija Dancetovic.

At No. 1, the senior tandem of Iwaniuk and Dancetovic emerged with a big comeback of their own. Just as Polanska and Minetti had won their match, Iwaniuk and Dancetovic had tied theirs at 5-5, coming back from a 5-3 deficit. Like the No. 2 team, the No. 1 duo also scored the last four games of the match to earn a 7-5 triumph, helped by a tremendous atmosphere at the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex.

"We had an outstanding atmosphere Sunday with a very vocal crowd from our Natchitoches community, faculty/staff and students," DuBois said. "I really believe they made a big difference for us."

Olivia Alfredsson at No. 5 earned a three-set victory after dropping the first set in decisive fashion 6-2. The freshman battled back against Catalina Cabrique, dominating the second set 6-0 and controlling the third 6-3 to earn the victory and make it 3-0.

The Lady Demons took five of the six first sets in singles, but UTSA came back to force a third set in three of those matches and were tight in the decisive set.

With the match looking like it could go down to the wire, another freshman, Dora Szczygielska closed the door on the Roadrunners. After winning the first set in decisive fashion 6-2, she had to play from behind most of the second set.

Szczygielska, a freshman from Gdynia, Poland, came through with a tight win in a tiebreaker 11-9 to clinch the match for NSU. This is her fourth consecutive win.

"All six singles were battles and we were fortunate enough to win the first three that came off the court," DuBois said. "Olivia did a great job turning her match around, Ela played very steady and Dora came through in the clutch with big points to secure the victory."

NSU hits the road to begin conference play Friday when the Lady Demons play Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Lamar next Sunday. They return to the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex on March 6 for their conference home opener against Nicholls.
 
Tennis Match Results
UTSA vs. Northwestern State
Feb. 23, 2020 at Natchitoches, LA
(Jack Fisher Tennis Complex)
Northwestern State 4, UTSA 0

Singles
1. Mariella Minetti (NSU) vs. Jasmin Starr (UTSA) 6-4, 1-6, UF
2. Ela Iwaniuk (NSU) def. Laura Cabrera 6-3, 6-3
3. Dorota Szczygielska (NSU) def. Laura Munoz-Baroja 6-2, 7-6 (11-9)
4. Patrycja Polanska (NSU) vs. Kylee Kato 6-2, 5-7, UF
5. Olivia Alfredsson (NSU) def. Catalina Cabrique 2-6, 6-0, 6-3
6. Judit Castillo Gargallo (NSU) vs. Keegan McCain 6-2, 4-6, UF

Doubles
1. Ela Iwaniuk/Emilija Dancetovic (NSU) def. Jasmin Starr/Keegan McCain 7-5
2. Patrycja Polanska/Mariella Minetti (NSU) def. Kylee Kato/Catalina Cabrique 7-5
3. Laura Cabrera/Sophie Omoworare (UTSA) def. Dorota Szczygielska/Judit Castillo Gargallo 6-4

Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1) Singles (2,5,6)