HUNTSVILLE, Texas – The Northwestern State tennis team enjoyed a strong start Friday to doubles play at the Bearkat Invitational at Sam Houston.
 
Making her fall debut, senior Honoka Umeda scored a pair of victories with two different teammates in Northwestern's only two matches of the day.
 
"It was a good first day overall," fourth-year head coach Marcos Morelli said. "I'm glad to see Honoka compete again, and the girls were able to stay aggressive and impose their game. We will play two singles matches against tough competition (Saturday), so I'm looking forward to it."
 
Umeda teamed with freshman Nico Tagami to defeat the host Sam Houston's pairing of Viktorie Zidelova and Veronika Muzichenko, 6-1, before pairing up with sophomore Athina Grigoriadiou to take down Southland Conference rival Lamar's team of Martina Alcaino and Livia Espirito Santo, 6-3.
 
Both Tagami and Grigoriadou will compete in singles action Saturday before the three-day tournament concludes with one singles match and one doubles match Sunday.