TAHLEQUAH – Northeastern State earned a hard-fought 4-3 win over Henderson State on Friday at the NSU Tennis Courts, securing a key non-conference victory.

The RiverHawks (2-4) clinched the doubles point by winning two of three matches. The duo of Lucia Bontempo and Camila de Michele secured a 7-5 victory at No. 3 doubles, while Annika Kleinhans and Sofia Kotliarova dominated at No. 2, winning 6-1.

In singles play, NSU and Henderson State (3-4) split the six matches. Tegan Heaton provided a key win at No. 2 singles, rallying from a set down to defeat Angela Georgieva 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. Bontempo and Barbora Havlova also secured straight-set victories for the RiverHawks at No. 4 and No. 6 singles, respectively.

Adel Ismagulova battled at No. 1 singles but fell 6-3, 7-5 to Kristina Kozlova. Kotliarova and Kleinhans also dropped their matches, but NSU's early doubles success proved to be the difference.

"Hard earned win today against a good team and battling the wind," said head coach Tim McLane. "I thought we played a solid doubles point again, and the two freshman stepped up to clinch that point for us." 

"In singles, mostly got off to a slow start again, so that's something we need to work on. Tegan did a nice job getting to a third and coming back to win that, and that's what kept us in it for Barbora to clinch the win at the end."

The RiverHawks will look for its third consecutive win on Saturday where they will host Ouachita Baptist.