CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Northwestern State puts its five-match winning streak on the line when it begins Southland Conference action this weekend at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday and at Lamar on Sunday.

The match against TAMUCC will take place at noon and the contest against Lamar will begin at 11 a.m.

"We are excited to begin SLC play this weekend after several non-conference matches," head coach Patric DuBois said. "We expect to compete and give a great effort on all courts as we have in every match thus far this season.

"It will be then up to all of us to execute on each court this weekend."

NSU (7-3) has shut out three of its past four opponents during its winning streak.

At the No. 3 spot in the rotation, freshman Dorota Szczygielska has won four matches in a row, including the clinching point in the victory against UTSA.

Like Szczygielska, junior Patrycja Polanska has also won four matches in a row, matching her career best. She helped jump start the Lady Demons winning streak by clinching the match at Houston on Feb. 9.

Mariella Minetti is on a roll of her own, emerging with victories in seven of her past eight at No. 1. She was named the conference player of the week for her efforts for the week of Feb. 10-16.

Ela Iwaniuk had an impressive showing this past week, winning two singles matches convincingly and earning a huge doubles match victory with partner Emilija Dancetovic, as they came back from a 4-1 deficit to win 7-5.

Iwaniuk, a senior from Konarskie, Poland, has triumphed in three straight matches and four of her past five.

"Every season, I am motivated, so it kind of feels the same, even though it is my last conference opener," Iwaniuk said. "But on the other hand, this is my last season, so I want to do the best that I can."

Dancetovic enters doubles play with 39 career doubles victories, which is tied with Kim Tollett (1983-85) and Anneline Zerwick (2002-05) for 22^nd in program history.

At No. 6, Judit Castillo Gargallo enters having won her past three and five of her past six matches. This past weekend, she clinched the victory against Southern Miss. Her 47 career singles wins are tied for 16^th in program history with Olga Bazhanova (2009-12) and former teammate Polina Mutel (2016-19).

In this past year's meeting against TAMUCC, Castillo Gargallo came through with the deciding victory in the 4-3 triumph in the conference opener at the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex.

Olivia Alfredsson has won three of her past four at the No. 5 slot, including a comeback this past weekend against Catalina Cabrique of UTSA. She lost the first set 6-0, but bounced back to win the final two sets to earn the point for the Lady Demons.

Four of the Lady Demons are new and will be playing their first SLC match in their careers.

"The newcomers need to be prepared that everyone will be fighting for every ball," Iwaniuk said. "They need to do the same. They need to concentrate and fight for every ball as well."

TAMUCC (10-2) has shut out nine of its 10 opponents so far. Both of the Islanders losses have come at the hands of UTSA. Like NSU, they also went to Houston and came away with a 4-3 victory.

It is a tight overall series, with the Lady Demons holding a slight 11-10 edge. NSU has won the two previous matchups, including the thriller in 2019, and is looking to tie its longest winning streak against the Islanders in program history.

Two TAMUCC players—Camille Townsend and Kei Kato—have gone 9-0 to start the season and two more Islanders have at least eight victories.

Lamar (6-2) has won six consecutive matches after dropping its first two. The contest will be the seventh straight home match for the Cardinals.

NSU holds a 20-15 lead in the overall series, including victories in the last two matchups. In the previous meeting, the Lady Demons emerged with a 4-3 win.

The Cardinals are led by Bianca Vitale, who is 6-2 at the No. 2 spot in the rotation. Laura Sola Grau is also 6-2 for Lamar, playing primarily at the No. 5 position.

The Lady Demons will be back at the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex next Friday when they host Nicholls to begin the home portion of league play.