TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Northeastern State women's tennis delivered a clean sweep in doubles and earned three singles victories to edge out Newman 4-3 in a tightly contested MIAA matchup Friday afternoon at the NSU Tennis Courts.

The RiverHawks jumped out to an early lead, taking the doubles point with three straight wins. Sofia Kotliarova and Adel Ismagulova led the charge, claiming a 7-5 victory in the No. 1 doubles match. Annika Kleinhans and Tegan Heaton followed with a 7-5 win at No. 2, while Camila de Michele and Barbora Havlova closed the sweep with a 6-4 triumph at No. 3.

In singles action, NSU secured wins in the No. 1, No. 3, and No. 4 positions to clinch the match. Heaton continued her strong form with a dominant 6-1, 6-2 victory over Dana Issabayeva at the top spot. Kotliarova followed suit with a straight-sets win over Nicole Bono, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 3. Kleinhans provided the clincher with a gritty 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 comeback win over Mariana Jimenez at No. 4.

Despite the overall victory, the RiverHawks dropped three competitive singles matches. Ismagulova fell 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) to Ani Zeilidze at No. 2, while Bontempo and Havlova dropped three-set decisions at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively.

"Great team win today. Our backs were against the wall, and we had to get a win today," said head coach Tim McLane.  "We came out and competed and got the job done. All in all, that's the hardest we have worked, and the toughest we have competed as a group, and to have a freshman step up and clinch that for us was huge. 

With the win, Northeastern State improves to 6-10 overall and 4-3 in MIAA play, maintaining a strong position in the conference standings. Newman falls to 6-13 (2-4 MIAA).

The RiverHawks go on the road to face Washburn next on Friday at 1 p.m. in Topeka.