NATCHITOCHES – The last time Northwestern State stepped on the court, a championship atmosphere was in the air as the Demons routed Nicholls en route to a Southland Conference regular season title. 

There won’t be any trophies or titles on the line as the Lady Demons (13-4) close out their regular season Thursday against Louisiana Tech. 

But championship tennis can be expected as the Techsters (17-4) come in with the most wins in the state this season as NSU ranks second among Division I teams in that category. 

“That’s what we wanted, a great in-state rivalry between two teams that are playing really good tennis,” said NSU coach Jonas Brobeck. “Louisiana Tech has won a lot of matches, and it’s a great to get a super quality opponent down here so we can get a great match heading into the Southland Conference Tournament. 

The match, originally scheduled for Tuesday but moved because of storms, will begin at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex. 

With the Southland Conference Tournament starting April 22 in New Orleans, the rescheduling of the match shortens the window from 10 to eight days between matches. 

“That’s huge,” Brobeck said. “Having the match closer to the tournament is great for us. 

“Matches are the best practice, and if Tech was in our conference, they’d for sure be one of the best. It’s perfect match in that you can grow from it and get better as you prepare for the tournament. 

NSU enters with an eight-match winning streak, which included a 6-0 run through the SLC. 

The winning streak is the longest since 2017 when the Lady Demons stacked nine wins in a row. 

Louisiana Tech won 14 consecutive matches earlier this season, including four against SLC opponents McNeese, Incarnate Word, Nicholls and UNO. 

The Lady Demons have individual streaks to match as Mariella Minetti and Ayu Ishibashi have each won their last eight singles matches. 

NSU hasn’t dropped a doubles point in the last nine team matches, and the Lady Demons lost just one doubles match overall in that time frame. 

 PHOTO: Chris Reich/NSU Photographic Services