CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – For the second straight match, Northwestern State tennis found itself in a battle that came down to the final court.

The Lady Demons (6-4, 2-0) edged Texas A&M–Corpus Christi (11-2, 1-1) 4–3 on Monday afternoon at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center, earning their second consecutive 4–3 Southland Conference road victory.

"This was a very good weekend for many reasons," head coach Marcos Morelli said. "We talk about being tough every day, and our entire team showed toughness and resilience against two very well-coached and strong teams who competed extremely hard."

The match opened with doubles, where NSU struck first.

Yana Mykytyn and Kseniya Ramanouskaya defeated Honoka Umeda and Sofi Garcia 6–2 at the No. 1 position to give the Islanders early momentum.

NSU answered at No. 2, as Lija Mumlek and Maria Farina secured a 6–3 win over Adriana Jimenez and Viktoriia Sedova to even the doubles competition.

The point came down to the No. 3 court, where Martina Acebedo Bonocore and Athina Grigoriadou delivered in a tight finish, closing out a 7–5 victory over Juliette Jalai and Emma Bousquet to give NSU the early 1–0 lead.

"Winning doubles was very big today," Morelli said. "Not only because of the final score, but because it created good momentum heading into singles. Our entire lineup showed courage in both doubles and singles."

Corpus Christi responded quickly in singles.

Mykytyn defeated Grigoriadou 6–4, 6–3, at No. 2 to even the match, and Bousquet followed with a 6–4, 6–0, win over Lolita Hukasian at No. 6 to give the Islanders a 2–1 advantage.

Umeda steadied the Lady Demons at the top of the lineup, defeating Leticia Tarocco 7–5, 6–2 at No. 1 to level the team score.

Acebedo Bonocore then pushed NSU back in front with a gritty 6–3, 2–6, 6–4, victory over Adriana Jimenez at No. 4, putting NSU within one point of the team win.

The Islanders refused to go away.

Kseniya Ramanouskaya edged Farina in a pair of tight sets, 7–6, 7–6(3), at No. 3 to tie the match at 3–3 and shift the spotlight to the final court.

With the match on the line at No. 5, Garcia delivered.

The captain claimed the first set 7–5 before Josefa Fuenzalida responded with a 6–2 second set. The deciding third set went to a tiebreak, where Garcia prevailed 7–3 to secure the match 7–5, 2–6, 7–6 and seal the 4–3 team victory for NSU.

"Both Martina and Sofi showed flat-out courage and trust in themselves and in the process," Morelli said. "They stayed in the moment the entire match. The whole team did. It was such a great battle today."

Morelli emphasized that the tight swings throughout the afternoon were expected against a team like Corpus Christi.

"We knew it would be a battle," Morelli said. "Every player from Corpus fights hard and is well coached. In the end, we executed well under pressure and played the big points well. So did Corpus. It was just a great match."

With back-to-back road wins decided by a single point, the Lady Demons continue to show composure and resilience as SLC play gets underway.

The Demons return to the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex for a two-match home stand beginning Saturday as New Orleans visits starting at 1 p.m. followed by a match against the Colonels from Nicholls starting at 11 a.m. on Monday.

NSU 4, AMCC 3
Northwestern State Lady Demons – Corpus Christi, Texas
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi – Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center

Singles
Honoka Umeda (NSU) def. Leticia Tarocco (AMCC) 7-5, 6-2
Yana Mykytyn (AMCC) def. Athina Grigoriadou (NSU) 6-4, 6-3
Kseniya Ramanouskaya (AMCC) def. Maria Farina (NSU) 7-6, 7-6(3)
Martina Acebedo Bonocore (NSU) def. Adriana Jimenez (AMCC) 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
Sofi Garcia (NSU) def. Josefa Fuenzalida (AMCC) 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3)
Emma Bousquet (AMCC) def Lolita Hukasian (NSU) 6-4, 6-0

Doubles
Yana Mykytyn/Kseniya Ramanouskaya (AMCC) def. Honoka Umeda/Sofi Garcia (NSU) 6-2
Lija Mumlek/Maria Farina (NSU) def. Adriana Jimenez/Viktoriia Sedova (AMCC) 6-3
Martina Acebedo Bonocore/Athina Grigoriadou (NSU) vs. Juliette Jalai/Emma Bousquet (AMCC) 7-5

Order on finish: doubles (1, 2, 3); singles (2, 6, 1, 4, 3, 5)