HAMMOND — Northwestern State tennis once again found itself in a match that came down to the final court, and once again, the Lady Demons delivered.

Northwestern State edged Southeastern Louisiana 4–3 on Monday morning at the Southeastern Tennis Complex, with Honoka Umeda clinching the match in a three-set battle at the No. 1 position.

The Lady Demons (9–5, 5–1) overcame an early deficit after dropping the doubles point.

"The girls are very resilient," head coach Marcos Morelli said. "I'm proud of how they handled adversity."

SLU took control in doubles, earning wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions.

Bente Bierma and Paige Duncan defeated Honoka Umeda and Sofi Garcia 6–4, while Taisia Bolsova and Aitana Darder edged Maria Farina and Lija Mumlek in a tight 7–6(5) match to secure the point. Martina Acebedo Bonocore and Athina Grigoriadou provided the lone doubles win for Northwestern State with a 6–4 victory at No. 3.

Trailing 1–0, the Lady Demons responded in singles play.

Farina quickly evened the match with a dominant 6–0, 6–0, victory over Bente Bierma at No. 2. Hukasian followed with a commanding 6–1, 6–0, win against Adriana Tirado at No. 6 to give NSU its first lead of the day.

Morelli pointed to those early results as a turning point in the match.

"Those wins were very important," Morelli said. "They helped shift the momentum to our side."

The Lions (9–6, 2–3) answered with a pair of wins to regain the advantage. Duncan defeated Garcia 6–3, 6–4 at No. 5, and Darder outlasted Grigoriadou 6–4, 4–6, 6–1 at No. 3 to put Southeastern ahead 3–2.

Acebedo brought the Lady Demons level once again, securing a steady 6–4, 6–4, win over Tetradze at No. 4 to set up a decisive final court.

That left the outcome in the hands of Umeda at the top of the lineup.

After dropping the opening set 6–3, Umeda responded with composure, taking the second set 6–4 before pulling away in the third. She closed out the match 6–2 to complete the comeback and secure the 4–3 team victory for NSU.

"She handled adversity very well," Morelli said. "She made the right adjustments and found her best level in the third set."

The win marked another match decided on the final court, a trend Morelli said reflects the competitiveness of the conference.

"Anyone can beat anyone," Morelli said. "Most matches in this conference come down to the final court."

With the win, the Lady Demons split the weekend 1–1 and now return home to face Stephen F. Austin at the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex. The Jacks denied NSU the outright Southland Conference regular season title last spring. Doubles play is scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m.

Despite the strong results in close matches, Morelli emphasized the team's continued focus on growth.

"We need to keep improving," he said. "We need to keep growing individually and as a team."

NSU 4, SLU 3
Northwestern State Lady Demons - Hammond, Louisiana
Southeastern Louisiana - Southeastern Tennis Complex

Singles
Honoka Umeda (NSU) def. Panatachak Suanarsa (SLU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
Maria Farina (NSU) def. Bente Bierma (SLU) 6-0, 6-0
Aitana Darder (SLU) def. Athina Grigoriadou (NSU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
Martina Acebedo Bonocore (NSU) def. Mariam Tetradze (SLU) 6-4, 6-4
Paige Duncan (SLU) def. Sofi Garcia (NSU) 6-3, 6-4
Lolita Hukasian (NSU) def. Adriana Tirado (SLU) 6-1, 6-0

Doubles
Bente Bierma/Paige Duncan (SLU) def. Honoka Umeda/Sofi Garcia (NSU) 6-4
Taisia Bolsova/Aitana Darder (SLU) def. Maria Farina/Lija Mumlek (NSU) 7-6(5)
Martina Acebedo Bonocore/Athina Grigoriadou (NSU) def. Mariam Tetradze/Adriana Tirado (SLU) 6-4

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