CONWAY, Ark. – The Nicholls State University women's tennis team took one step closer at earning a bid to the Southland Conference tournament after taking down conference-foe, the University of Central Arkansas, by the score of 5-2 on Saturday morning.

The win marks the second consecutive conference victory for the Colonels (7-7, 2-3 SLC) and moves Nicholls into a tie for seventh with Texas State.

The Colonels snatched up the doubles point, taking two of the three matches. Florina Nosca and Natalia Zamora continued to dominate as a duo, picking up an 8-1 victory at No. 1. Nicholls' Marina Ljoshevska and Sumana Kalyanasundaram dropped the No. 2 match 8-4, but Tatiana Denezhkina/Melissa Harrison earned an easy 8-1 victory in the No. 3 slot.

In singles play, Zamora picked up a 6-1, 6-1 victory at No. 2 while Kalyanasundaram took the No. 3 match 6-0, 6-3. At No. 4, Denezhkina won 6-0, 7-6 (7-5) and Ljoshevska notched the Colonels' final point with a 2-6, 7-5, 10-5 victory in the fifth spot. For the No. 1 match, Nosca battled with UCA's Simona Horsikyan, but after a marathon third set, UCA came out with the point with a 4-6, 6-4, 15-13 victory. The Bears earned the final point in the No. 6 match by default.

The Colonels wrap up the weekend action tomorrow with a match at Northwestern State University. First serve is set for 10 a.m.

The complete results for the match versus UCA are listed below.

Nicholls 5, Central Arkansas 2

Singles competition
1. Simona Horsikyan (UCA) def. Florina Nosca (NICH) 4-6, 6-4, 15-13
2. Natalia Zamora (NICH) def. Lisa Mainz (UCA) 6-1, 6-1
3. S. Kalyanasundaram (NICH) def. Kazumi Otani (UCA) 6-0, 6-3
4. Tatiana Denezhkina (NICH) def. Kati Andersen (UCA) 6-0, 7-6 (7-5)
5. Marina Ljoshevska (NICH) def. Allison Hartman (UCA) 2-6, 7-5, 10-5
6. Alex Rios (UCA) def. Melissa Harrison (NICH), by default

Doubles competition
1. Florina Nosca/Natalia Zamora (NICH) def. Mainz/ Hartman (UCA) 8-2
2. Sasha Ruocco/Kazumi (UCA) def. Marina Ljoshevska/S. Kalyanasundaram (NICH) 8-4
3. Tatiana Denezhkina/Melissa Harrison (NICH) def. Rios/ Andersen (UCA) 8-1