TAHLEQUAH -- Northeastern State began their final pair of home dates on the schedule with a 6-1 win over Emporia State.
"That was a battle all the way through today," head coach
Tim McLane said.
The RiverHawks (8-6, 3-3 MIAA) swung doubles competition in their favor to start the afternoon hot with a pair of wins from the teams of
Sofia Kotliarova and
Alisha Moldakhmetova and
Tegan Heaton and
Sandra Mari Marti.
In singles action, NSU took five of six over the Hornets (5-11, 1-6 MIAA). Kotliarova was the first to claim a singles point for the RiverHawks, emerging with a three-set decision. Moldakhmetova, who was honored as part of the Senior Day festivities, picked up her second win of the afternoon in a three-set triumph, while Mari Marti earned the team's lone two-set win of the day.
Andrea Vargas and
Leah Gonzales-Edwards finished victorious in their matchups, as well, to play roles in providing the RiverHawks with their 13th win over the Hornets in program history, as well as their first in Tahlequah since 2018.
"We did a good job figuring out a way to win the doubles, and then we kept that momentum for the next hour or so and were able to get some first sets on the board," McLane noted, adding that "we let up just a little in the middle of singles, but we did a really nice job of getting the momentum and energy back on our side, and we closed out some of those tight sets at the end."
The team wraps up the home schedule with Newman tomorrow, scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m.
