TAHLEQUAH — Both Northeastern State tennis teams host Southeastern Oklahoma on Thursday at 1 p.m. before traveling to face Arkansas-Fort Smith at 11 a.m. (women) and 2 p.m. (men) on Friday.

Both contests are a continuation of MIAA play for the men's team, while Friday marks the women's team's conference opener.

The NSU women (7-3) seek a rebound after their seven-match winning streak was snapped on Saturday by Harding in Searcy, Ark. The RiverHawks lost the early doubles point and the concluding point later occurred in HU's favor on a winner-take-all clash in No. 3 singles competition.

Despite the loss, much of the young core shined. All three singles victories on Saturday came from freshmen. Laura Mertens had a dominant win on No. 4 singles in straight sets and enters the week with wins in four of her last five singles bouts. Daisy Barrow picked up her sixth straight singles triumph on Saturday and her first on the year in the No. 2 spot. Carla Alvarez Perez additionally earned her fourth singles victory in a row on Saturday and moved to 3-0 in the No. 6 position.

Meanwhile, the team of Barrow and Renata Morales moved up to #28 in the latest ITA doubles rankings.

Southeastern Oklahoma's women's team enters the week at 4-7 overall, holding a 2-5 record in away and neutral matches. The team additionally holds an 0-3 record in matchups against MIAA opponents. UAFS enters the week at 2-8 overall with the aim of ending a five-match overall losing streak. The Lions have lost eight straight home matches, with their last win occurring on Mar. 19, 2025 against Sterling (Kan.).

The NSU men (3-6) enter the week pursuing an end to a four-match losing skid. They dropped their first two conference tests in a pair of 5-2 decisions on the road against Southern Arkansas and Harding last week. Three different players claimed a singles win in last week's action, including Alexander Edley, who has won five of his last seven singles matches.

In doubles, the RiverHawks have seen two wins in a row from the No. 3 spot with the team of Ko Osuga and Tomas Aramburu. Meanwhile, a loss last Saturday halted a four-match win streak to start the season from the team of Luis Denda and James Edley.

The Southeastern men enter the week at 3-7 overall, losing their conference opener to Washburn on Mar. 13 (7-0). They have earned a pair of wins since then against Newman (4-0) and Cowley County (4-3).

Arkansas-Fort Smith (4-5, 0-2 MIAA) hosts NSU after a pair of non-DII wins in the last two weeks against Oklahoma Wesleyan (5-2) and University of the Ozarks (7-0). The Lions previously lost conference tests against Harding (7-0) and Southern Arkansas (5-2) at home and have lost all four home matches in 2026