NATCHITOCHES – The amazing one-year turnaround of the Southeastern Louisiana women's tennis program continued on Saturday, as the Lions rallied for a huge 4-3 road win at Northwestern State on the NSU campus.
 
The Lions (17-2, 7-1 Southland) bounced back from losing the doubles point for the second straight day, winning at all four of the bottom spots in singles action. Northwestern State dropped to 9-6 overall and 3-2 in league action.
 
With the victory, Southeastern has positioned itself to win the fourth regular season championship under head coach Jason Hayes. Should the Lions win their Southland finale versus Nicholls State on Monday, April 16, Southeastern will finish with no less than a share of the Southland Conference title.  It marks a remarkable turnaround for the Lions, who posted a 1-10 league record and missed the Southland Conference Tournament in 2012.
 
“I just can't begin to tell you how proud I am of this group and how hard they fight,” Hayes commented. “We were down 3-0 and our players never stopped battling. I've never been more proud of a team and their effort these last two days. In consecutive matches, we've lost the doubles point and came back to win in singles. This shows that our student-athletes have what it takes to be champions.”
 
Northwestern State jumped out to a 1-0 lead in doubles play. The Southeastern pair of senior Isabel Brito and freshman Reginka Nychytailova (4-2) won on the No. 3 court by the score of 8-4 over NSU's Amy Williams and Daniela Simonova, but the Lady Demons won at No. 1 and No. 2 to take the early lead.
 
NSU had Southeastern on the brink of defeat with quick straight set wins on the top two courts in singles play. However, the Lady Lions battled back. Junior Valya Rusakova (14-5) won her sixth straight singles match, defeating Andrea Nedorostova, 6-2, 7-6 on the No. 4 court to pull Southeastern within, 3-1.
 
Southeastern evened the match at No. 3 and No. 6. Freshman Renee Villarreal (17-0) remained unbeaten on the year, outlasting Natalya Krutova, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. Then the Lady Lions' lone senior, Brito (14-2) earned a clutch 7-5, 6-4 victory over Simonova at No. 6.
 
The match came down to the No. 5 court, where Lion sophomore Morgane Charpenne faced off with NSU's Olga Leyshyna. Charpenne improved to 4-2, rallying from a set down to defeat her Lady Demon foe, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4.
 
Southeastern will return to action on Friday, hosting Louisiana-Lafayette at 6 p.m. at the Southeastern Tennis Complex.
 
Southeastern Louisiana 4, Northwestern State 3
 
Singles:
No. 1 Polina Kolop (NWLA) def. Nastya Tokareva (SLU) 6-3, 6-0
No. 2 Tatiana Lorina (NWLA) def. Reginka Nychytailova (SLU) 6-1, 6-3
No. 3 Renee Villarreal (SLU) def. Natalya Krutova (NWLA) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
No. 4 Valya Rusakova (SLU) def. Andrea Nedorostova (NWLA) 6-2, 7-6
No. 5 Morgane Charpenne (SLU) def. Olga Leyshyna (NWLA) 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4
No. 6 Isabel Brito (SLU) def. Daniela Simonova (NWLA) 7-5, 6-4
 
Doubles:
No. 1 Nedorostova/Lorina (NWLA) def. Rusakova/Tokareva (SLU) 8-3
No. 2 Konop/Krutova (NWLA) def. Adriana Castillo/Villarreal (SLU) 8-6
No. 3 Brito/Nychytailova (SLU) def. Amy Williams/Simonova (NWLA) 8-4