LAFAYETTE — Northwestern State tennis ran into a strong UL Lafayette squad on Wednesday afternoon, falling 4–0 at the Cajun Courts.

The Lady Demons (10–6) dropped the doubles point and saw UL Lafayette (12–4) secure three singles victories to clinch the match, while three additional courts went unfinished.

"Credit to Lafayette," head coach Marcos Morelli said. "They played very good tennis and deserved the win."

The Ragin' Cajuns took early control in doubles play.

Martina Della Gora and Safia Zenbi gave the Cajuns the opening advantage with a 6–1 win over Maria Farina and Lolita Hukasian at the No. 2 position.

NSU answered at No. 3, where Martina Acebedo Bonocore and Athina Grigoriadou earned a 6–2 victory over Ana Martinez Vaquero and Marilou Bressan.

The doubles point came down to the top court, where Angelique Berrat and Nina Krecklenberg edged Honoka Umeda and Sofi Garcia in a tight 7–5 match to secure the early 1–0 lead for Louisiana.

In singles, the Cajuns carried that momentum forward.

Berrat extended the lead with a 6–1, 6–4 win over Umeda at No. 1, and Bressan followed with a 6–4, 6–2 victory against Grigoriadou at No. 3 to push the advantage to 3–0.

Zenbi clinched the match for UL Lafayette at No. 2, defeating Farina 7–5, 6–1 to secure the 4–0 team win.

Morelli pointed to momentum as a key factor in the match.

"We allowed the momentum to slip away," Morelli said. "And Lafayette did a good job of not letting us back into it."

Despite the final score, NSU showed competitiveness across the remaining courts before play was halted.

At No. 4, Acebedo Bonocore was coming off a tightly contested first set, falling 7–6(6) before trailing early in the second. Garcia had taken the opening set 6–2 at No. 5 and was leading 5–4 in the second, while Hukasian also claimed the first set 6–4 at No. 6 before her match was left unfinished.

NSU aims to regroup as it returns back to Jack Fisher for the final conference matches of the season

Morelli emphasized using the loss as a learning opportunity moving forward.

"We take something from every match, regardless of the result," he said.

ULL 4, NSU 0
UL Lafayette Ragin Cajuns - Lafayette, Louisiana
UL Lafayette - Cajun Courts

Singles
Angelique Berrat (ULL) def. Honoka Umeda (NSU) 6-1, 6-4
Safia Zenbi (ULL) def. Maria Farina (NSU) 7-5, 6-1
Marilou Bressan (ULL) def. Athina Grigoriadou (NSU) 6-4, 6-2
Martina Acebedo Bonocore (NSU) vs. Ana Martinez Vaquero (ULL) 6(6)-7, 0-1, uf
Sofi Garcia (NSU) vs. Martina Della Gora (ULL) 6-2, 5-4, uf
Lolita Hukasian (NSU) vs. Nina Krecklenberg (ULL) 6-4, 1-3, uf

Doubles
Angelique Berrat/Nina Krecklenberg (ULL) def. Honoka Umeda/Sofi Garcia (NSU) 7-5
Martina Della Gora/Safia Zenbi (ULL) def. Maria Farina/Lolita Hukasian (NSU) 6-1
Martina Acebedo Bonocore/Athina Grigoriadou (NSU) def. Ana Martinez Vaquero/Marilou Bressan (ULL) 6-2

Orders finished: doubles (2, 3, 1); singles (1, 3, 2, uf, uf, uf)