NATCHITOCHES – Fresh off its first victory of the season, the Northwestern State tennis team aims to start a winning streak when they host Southern Miss on Sunday.
 
First serve is at 11 a.m. at the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex. It is the second of 12 consecutive home matches.
 
The Lady Demons (1-2) are coming off a 7-0 sweep against LSU-Alexandria for the first win in the Marcos Morelli era.
 
 "We need to keep this attitude and keep the adjustments we have made to be able to keep competing well," Morelli said.
 
In the triumph over LSUA, NSU won five of the six singles matches in straight sets.
 
Among those were victories from Maria Farina and Sofi Garcia, who both surrendered just two games won by their opponents.

Farina won her match at the No. 3 singles position 6-2, 6-0, while Garcia dominated winning both sets by an identical 6-1 margin.
 
Sara Erenda, a freshman from Austria, was the only court to go into three sets, but she showed her resilience. On No. 6, Erenda started fast with a 6-3 first set triumph before dropping the second set. She found that resiliency and her rhythm and finished with a 6-2 third-set win to finish the sweep.
 
"Having the girls compete at home in front of the home crowd definitely helps with the confidence of the girls," Morelli said.
 
After a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Florida A&M to begin the season, USM (1-1) bounced back with a 5-1 victory at home against Southland foe Southeastern Louisiana.
 
NSU is the second of four SLC opponents the Golden Eagles will face in non-conference action, also playing against New Orleans and Lamar.
 
Following the match, the Lady Demons continue the long stretch at home with a pair of weekend matches against Sam Houston State on Feb. 9 and South Alabama on Feb. 11.