After dropping a 4-1 decision to Sam Houston State University Friday, the Lady Colonels rebounded Saturday with a 5-2 win over Stephen F. Austin University to advance (7-3, 2-2 SLC) on the season. “I was very pleased with the performance of the kids over the weekend. Both Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin are well-coached and good teams,” head tennis coach Hunter said. “We really needed the win on Saturday to move up in the conference.”

In the first game on Friday, Nicholls started with a victory over the Lady Bearkats. Freshmen Florina Nosca and Melissa Harrison defeated juniors Irina Sotnikova and Peta Taylor 8-1.

Following the win, the Lady Colonels dropped two consecutive doubles matches to Sam Houston, which sent the event into the singles competition.

In the singles event, Nicholls dropped the first two matches to the Lady Bearkats, which sealed the Sam Houston win.

The only Nicholls win came from freshman Natalia Zomora who defeated Taylor 6-3, 6-4.

On the following day, Nicholls rebounded with a 5-2 sweeping win over the Stephen F. Austin Lady Lumberjacks.

In the doubles competition, the Lady Colonels swept the events with wins of 8-0, 8-4 and 8-4.

Nosca and Harrison defeated freshmen Gaby Cordera and sophomore Tanya Smolinakova 8-0. The doubles team advanced to 5-3 for the season.

In the singles event, Nicholls claimed four of six wins to claim the 5-2 win.

Zomora defeated junior Mary Harrison 6-0, 6-0. Zomora advanced to 9-0 with the win Saturday.

The Lady Colonels were projected to finish ten of twelve teams, and with the win Saturday, Nicholls advanced to the eighth spot in the conference.

To become eligible for seeding in the Southland Conference tournament, the Lady Colonels need to be ranked in the top eight teams.

If Nicholls were to obtain the seed for the tournament, it would make University history.