SHREVEPORT— The Northwestern State women's team showed its strong depth, as it emerged with a 5-2 victory at LSU-Shreveport on Monday afternoon at the Pilot Tennis Courts.

The Lady Demons (7-6) won on singles courts 2-5 to solidify the win after coming away with the doubles point.

"It was a quality match on the road," head coach Marcos Morelli said. "I am happy that the team could come through with a win."

With the triumph, Northwestern State has won three in a row and seven of its past eight.

The afternoon began on a strong note for the Lady Demons, as they won all three doubles matches to earn the point to start off the match.

The pairing of Zoi Spyrou and Honoka Umeda rolled to a victory at the No. 2 doubles spot 6-0 against LSUS' Sara Sofia Sanchez Molano and Lidia Gomez.

Northwestern State clinched the doubles point at the top spot in the doubles rotation when the duo of Pika Doberlet and Tjasa Klevisar came away with a 6-2 triumph.

To cap off the Lady Demon sweep in doubles, the No. 3 pairing of Valeria Ortega and Ayu Ishibashi won 6-3 over the LSU duo of Angela Basto and Ana Julia De Paula Mandrot.

Klevisar started the singles off on the right foot for Northwestern State, collecting a 6-1, 6-3, victory against Basto at the No. 2 singles position to put the Lady Demons in front 2-0.

It did not take long after that for the Pilots to dent the scoreboard, as LSUS won at the top spot in the singles rotation with Lescher coming away with a 6-3 victory against Spyrou to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Ishibashi fought right back to push the lead back to two with a straight-sets win against Maldonado Perez at singles spot No. 5, coming away with a 6-3, 6-2 win to push the lead to 3-1 and on the brink of victory.

The final three matches could have gone either way, all going to a deciding third set, as the Lady Demons won two of their three.

Umeda clinched the Lady Demons victory with a triumph against Gomez. After starting a bit slow, losing the first set 6-4, she dominated the final two sets, winning 6-0 in the second set, forcing a decisive third, which she rolled 6-1.

The final two matches that went the distance were split, as Northwestern State won at the No. 4 singles position. Doberlet dropped the first set 6-4 against Sanchez Molano, but she came back to win two straight tight sets, both ending in identical 7-5 scores.

The second singles match won by the Pilots came at the No. 6 singles position, as De Paula Mandrot won a thriller against Ortega. De Paula Mandrot won a tight first set 7-5 before Ortega rebounded with a 6-3 victory in the second set. De Paula Mandrot responded by winning another thrilling set, coming away with a 7-5 triumph to win the match.

After a near-three week break between Southland Conference matches, the Lady Demons return home for two in a row, starting with a matchup with rival McNeese on Saturday before Senior Day against Southeastern Louisiana on April 14.
 
Northwestern State 5, LSU-Shreveport 2
Women's Tennis at Shreveport, Louisiana - Pilots Tennis Courts

Singles
Pierina Lescher (LSUS) def. Zoi Spyrou (NSU) 6-3, 6-1
Tjasa Klevisar (NSU) def. Angela Basto 6-1, 6-3
Honoka Umeda (NSU) def. Lidia Gomez 4-6, 6-0, 6-1
Pika Doberlet (NSU) def. Sara Sofia Sanchez Molano 4-6, 7-5, 7-5
Ayu Ishibashi (NSU) def. Daniela Maldonado Perez 6-3, 6-2
Ana Julia De Paula Mandrot (LSUS) def. Valeria Ortega 7-5, 3-6, 7-5
 
Doubles
Pika Doberlet/Tjasa Klevisar (NSU) def. Pierina Lescher/Daniela Maldonado Perez 6-2
Zoi Spyrou/Honoka Umeda (NSU) def. Sara Sofia Sanchez Molano/Lidia Gomez 6-0
Valeria Ortega/Ayu Ishibashi (NSU) def. Angela Basto/Ana Julia De Paula Mandrot 6-3
 
Match Notes
Northwestern State 7-6
LSU-Shreveport 7-3