NATCHITOCHES – As one final crucial Southland Conference home match looms for the Northwestern State tennis team, so does a difficult goodbye for three of the team's veteran members.

NSU (11-8, 3-3 SLC) faces Southeastern Louisiana (9-8, 2-3 SLC) on Thursday at 1 p.m. with the conference tournament looming. NSU is aiming for its third consecutive victory. NSU currently resides in fourth, while SLU is in sixth place.

The Lady Demons knocked the Lions out of the Southland Conference tournament last season with a 4-0 victory.

With a win, NSU would clinch an above .500 league record for the 15th time in the last 16 seasons.

At 12:30 p.m. – preceding the day's match – the Lady Demons will celebrate the four-year careers of seniors Gig Kanaphuet, Mariella Minetti, and Dorota Szczygielska. All three arrived during the 2019-20 season, and since have led the team both on and off the court.

Kanaphuet has a career record of 12-13 in singles playing predominately at the bottom of the lineup. She has recorded wins against LSU-Shreveport, UIW, and Southeastern.

She is 5-5 in doubles in her career with wins against Jackson State and Nicholls.

Minetti is 36-21 overall in singles and 32-25 in doubles. She has 6-5 singles record this season with five of those wins occurring in conference play. Her 15 overall wins at No. 3 last season, are tied for fourth all-time at NSU and 13th overall regardless of position.

Szczygielska has been a stalwart in doubles throughout her Lady Demons career, rolling to a 28-10 record, coming back from an injury that forced her to miss the entire 2022 season. That doubles winning percentage of .737 currently ranks 17th in program history. She has a 14-5 doubles record in the 2023 season.

She has compiled 17 overall singles victories in her career and. She has collected singles wins against Southern Miss., UL-Monroe, and NJIT.

All three seniors have adapted and thrived within the Natchitoches community over the years, despite challenges.

Following the match, the Lady Demons head to Corpus Christi for the SLC tournament, beginning April 21. The top eight teams make the tournament field.