NATCHITOCHES — The Northwestern State tennis team found itself in a tightly contested Southland Conference match Monday afternoon, but this time came up just short in a 4-3 loss to Incarnate Word at the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex.

The Lady Demons (10-7, 6-2) dropped the doubles point and battled back in singles, but the Cardinals (6-9, 5-3) secured the deciding point on the final court.

"Highly competitive college match," head coach Marcos Morelli said. "Credit to UIW, they deserved the win."

The Cardinals took control early in doubles play.

Ine Lamprecht and Estefania Gonzalez opened with a 6-3 win over Honoka Umeda and Sofi Garcia at the No. 1 position. Victoria Salcedo and Alexandra Mille followed with a 6-4 victory against Maria Farina and Lolita Hukasian at No. 2 to clinch the doubles point for UIW.

The No. 3 pairing of Martina Acebedo Bonocore and Athina Grigoriadou closed doubles on a high note for Northwestern, edging Amelie Montalvo and Amelia Perez Corona 7-6 (1).

Morelli pointed to doubles as the key difference in the match.

"They played doubles on their terms," Morelli said. "They were more aggressive than us, and that made the difference."

Trailing 1-0, the Demons responded in singles.

Grigoriadou got NSU on the board first with a dominant 6-1, 6-2 victory over Perez Corona at No. 3. UIW answered at the top of the lineup, as Gonzalez defeated Umeda 6-2, 6-2 at No. 1 to extend the Cardinals' lead.

Acebedo continued her strong form at No. 4, earning a 6-2, 6-2 win over Montalvo to pull the Demons back within a point.

Garcia regained the lead for the Demons at 3-2 with a 6-1, 6-4 victory against Victoria Salcedo at No. 5, setting up a decisive finish.

Soon after Garcia's finish, the Cardinals evened it up at 3, where Lamprecht rebounded after dropping the opening set to defeat Farina 0-6, 6-2, 6-2.

That left the match to be decided at No. 6.

Hukasian battled through a three-set match against Mille, taking the first set 6-4 and pushing to a deciding tiebreak in the third. Mille ultimately prevailed 7-6 (3) in the final set to secure the victory for the visitors.

Morelli credited UIW's consistency late in the match.

"They fought hard," Morelli said. "They deserved to win today."

Northwestern looks to regroup ahead of its next matchup against Lamar. First serve is set for 11 a.m. Wednesday and will serve as Senior Day for Northwestern.

"We have some things to work on," Morelli said. "We'll address them and be ready for Wednesday."

UIW 4, NSU 3
Northwestern State Lady Demons - Natchitoches, Louisiana
Northwestern State - Jack Fisher Tennis Complex

Singles
Estefania Gonzalez (UIW) def. Honoka Umeda (NSU) 6-2, 6-2
Ine Lamprecht (UIW) def. Maria Farina (NSU) 0-6, 6-2, 6-2
Athina Grigoriadou (NSU) def. Amelia Perez Corona (UIW) 6-1, 6-2
Martina Acebedo Bonocore (NSU) def. Amelie Montalvo (UIW) 6-2, 6-2
Sofi Garcia (NSU) def. Victoria Salcedo (UIW) 6-1, 6-4
Alexandra Mille (UIW) def. Lolita Hukasian (NSU) 4-6, 3-6, 7-6(3)

Doubles
Ine Lamprecht/Estefania Gonzalez (UIW) def. Honoka Umeda/Sofi Garcia (NSU) 6-3
Victoria Salcedo/Alexandra Mille (UIW) def. Maria Farina/Lolita Hukasian (NSU) 6-4
Martina Acebedo Bonocore/Athina Grigoriadou (NSU) def. Amelie Montalvo/Amelia Perez Corona (UIW) 7-6(1)

Orders finished: doubles (1, 2, 3); singles (3, 1, 4, 5, 2, 6)
Northwestern State (10-7, 6-2)
Incarnate Word (6-9, 5-3)