LAKE CHARLES — Northwestern State tennis saw its unbeaten start to Southland Conference play come to an end Saturday afternoon, falling 4–3 to McNeese at the Nancy Hank Tennis Center.

The Lady Demons (8–5, 4–1) dropped a tightly-contested match that came down to the final singles court, with the Cowgirls (13–1, 3–0) securing the deciding point in the last match of the day.

The match opened with doubles play, where McNeese struck first.

Honoka Umeda and Sofi Garcia delivered a dominant 6–0 victory over Stella Rundova and Elena Morales Dorantes at the No. 1 position.

McNeese responded at No. 2, as Salome Fluri and Erica Hagi defeated Maria Farina and Lija Mumlek 6–3 to even the doubles competition.

The point came down to the No. 3 court, where Ana Hollweg and Naomi Hagi edged Martina Acebedo Bonocore and Athina Grigoriadou in a tight 7–6 tiebreak to give McNeese the early 1–0 lead.

In singles, McNeese extended its advantage quickly.

Fluri defeated Umeda 6–2, 6–2, at No. 1, and Hollweg followed with a 7–6, 6–2 win over Acebedo at No. 4, halting Acebedo's nine-match winning streak, to give the Cowgirls a 3–0 lead.

Dorantes secured the clinching point for McNeese with a 6–3, 7–5 victory over Lolita Hukasian, sealing the 4–3 team win.

NSU responded with three straight wins despite the match being clinched.

Grigoriadou put the Lady Demons on the board with a 6–1, 3–6, 6–3, victory over Stella Rundova at No. 3.

Garcia followed at No. 5 after Hagi retired from the match.

Farina scored the Lady Demons third point with a hard-fought three-set win at No. 2, defeating Mendonza 6–3, 6–7, 10–4, in a match that came down to a deciding tiebreak.

Despite the loss, NSU showed resilience after falling behind early, battling back to force a deciding match against one of the conference's top teams.

The Lady Demons will look to regroup as SLC play continues, heading to Hammond to face off against Southeastern on Monday. Doubles set to begin at 11 a.m.

MCN 4, NSU 3
Northwestern State Lady Demons - Lake Charles, Louisiana
McNeese State University - Nancy Hank Tennis Center

Singles
Salome Fluri (MCN) def. Honoka Umeda (NSU) 6-2, 6-2
Maria Farina (NSU) def. Alexa Martinez Mendonza (MCN) 6-3, 6-7, 10-4
Athina Grigoriadou (NSU) def. Stella Rundova (MCN) 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
Ana Hollweg (MCN) def. Martina Acebedo Bonocore (NSU) 7-6, 6-2
Sofi Garcia (NSU) def. Erica Hagi (MCN) 6-7, 4-5, retired
Elena Morales Dorantes (MCN) def. Lolita Hukasian (NSU) 6-3, 7-5

Doubles
Honoka Umeda/Sofi Garcia (NSU) def. Stella Rundova/Elena Morales Dorantes (MCN) 6-0
Salome Fluri/Erica Hagi (MCN) def. Maria Farina/Lija Mumlek (NSU) 6-3
Ana Hollweg/Naomi Hagi (MCN) def. Martina Acebedo Bonocore/Athina Grigoriadou (NSU) 7-6

Orders finished: doubles (1, 2, 3); singles (1, 4, 6, 3, 5, 2)