TAHLEQUAH -- Northeastern State started and finished strong in a 5-2 victory over Southeastern Oklahoma State on Thursday to halt a four-match losing streak and earn the program's first conference win since reviving the program.

"Big home conference win for the guys today," head tennis coach Tim McLane said of the victory. "We talked about having our backs against the wall today and tomorrow in terms of making the conference tournament, and our guys responded well."

The RiverHawks (4-6, 1-2 MIAA) swept doubles action before opening singles competition with a dominant two-set win from Alexander Edley on court two that lasted just over an hour in length. James Edley would place NSU in a position to clinch by successfully defending court one in straight sets an hour later.

Tomas Aramburu provided the clinching blow to Southeastern (3-8, 0-2 MIAA), picking up a gritty triumph after three back-and-forth sets in No. 4 singles. Manuel Bruenengo secured another singles win in the No. 6 spot, giving Northeastern some added cushion to the final result.

"We played a really solid doubles point, Alex picked up another quick point for us, and the rest of the guys did a good job battling to close it out," McLane added. "For that being our first time in that situation, I thought we did a great job fighting and adjusting."

The RiverHawks play at Arkansas-Fort Smith tomorrow, starting at 2 p.m. in a continuation of their MIAA schedule.