LAFAYETTE — The Northwestern State tennis team tries to rebound this weekend as it plays a pair of matches at UL Lafayette on Saturday and Houston on Sunday.

The match at UL Lafayette begins at noon, while the match at Houston begins at 11 a.m.

NSU (2-2) aims to bounce back following a 5-2 defeat at the hands of North Texas last Saturday. Freshmen Mariella Minetti and Olivia Alfredsson recorded the points for the Lady Demons with singles victories.

Minetti has won three consecutive matches at the No. 1 spot for NSU, including against UNT's Alexandra Heczey, while Alfredsson also earned three consecutive victories, with the first two being at No. 4 and the last one at No. 5.

"I appreciate my coach putting me at the top spot," Minetti said. "I like playing the best players from other teams. I also appreciate playing at this spot because we're a really good team."

Minetti is the first true freshman to play at the No. 1 spot since Anneline Zerwick in 2002, who went 2-2 at the position.

Senior Ela Iwaniuk has played all four of her matches at No. 2 and has a pair of wins, while Dorota Szczygielska played her first match of the season against UNT at No. 3.

Playing at No. 6, senior Judit Castillo Gargallo has 44 career singles wins, which is tied with Kim Tollett (1983-85) for the 20^th most in school history.

In doubles, the tandem of Iwaniuk and fellow senior Emilija Dancetovic has started fast, winning three of their first four and nearly knocking off LSU's No. 1 team. Dancetovic has 37 career doubles victories, which is 28^th in program history.

"Our No. 1 doubles team are seniors," DuBois said. "We expect them to do the right things all the time, whether they make or miss. They're just showing they've been able to execute on a consistent basis. They're a pretty solid doubles team."

UL Lafayette (4-0) comes in undefeated, sweeping four matches against SWAC opponents by a combined 23-1. The Ragin' Cajuns have played just once since Jan. 20, a 7-0 victory against Southern last Saturday. This match is their fifth consecutive home match to start the season.

"ULL us much-improved from last year," DuBois said. "We got to see a lot of their players this fall and they're much better and now we have to play them down at their place.

"In the match against them, we have to compete and be brave in our actions and the way we do things."

The teams have met 51 times overall, with UL Lafayette holding a slight edge in the series, 27-24. However, NSU won the most recent matchup last year, a 4-1 win in Natchitoches, and has won five of the last six meetings. Lafayette has not been kind to the Lady Demons, who are just 5-17 on the road in this rivalry.

The Ragin' Cajuns are led by Floriane Picaut, who is 4-0 at the No. 1 position. She registered the lone point in last year's match against the Lady Demons. Picaut is also 3-0 in doubles with three different partners, all at the No. 1 spot in the rotation.

As a team, UL Lafayette has won five of the six overall doubles matches.

At the No. 2 spot, Mariona Perez Noguera, a transfer from the University of Pittsburgh, is 3-0. Freshman Lucie Raquin has jumped out to a fast start, winning the first four matches of her career in singles at No. 3.

Houston (1-2) lost its previous match to Southland foe Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Lady Demons are the third consecutive Southland Conference opponent for the Cougars, whose lone win came against McNeese on Jan. 31. This match is their fourth of 14 consecutive home matches following a trip to Texas A&M for the opener.

This is the 10^th meeting between the two schools, with Houston holding a 6-3 edge. The teams last met in 2018 with the Cougars shutting out the Lady Demons 5-0. Houston has won four of the six matchups in Houston.

"Houston is a nationally ranked caliber team," DuBois said. "They're a solid team, well coached and does everything the right way."

Mimi Kendall-Woseley has won two of her three matches at the No. 1 spot, while Phonexay Chitdara has won both of her matches at No. 4 in the rotation.

The Lady Demons return home next weekend when they welcome Alcorn and Texas State to Natchitoches, with the first match against Alcorn being on Friday. Those are the first two of a four-match homestand for NSU.