JACKSON, Miss.  – The Nicholls State University women's tennis team recorded its second straight victory with a 7-0 shutout at Jackson State Wednesday at the JSU Tennis Complex.

With the victory, Nicholls improves to 8-3 on the year and has won eight of its last seven, with the only loss coming to nationally-ranked LSU.

“Another day at the office with this fine group of women,” said Nicholls tennis head coach Meenakshi Sundaram. “I'm very proud of the team for competing hard as always and we had great leadership from the top as usual.”

The Colonels had little trouble against the Lady Tigers, winning all three doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead. Marie Aubert/Isla Brock teamed up for an 8-4 win at No. 1, while Eva Castiglioni/Rachel Howie and Natalia Cardiff/Catherine Gauthier won the No. 2 and 3 matches 8-3, respectively.

In singles, Nicholls cruised to five straight-set victories, giving up three or less points in nine of the 10 sets. Brock (No. 3) and Castiglioni (No.5) won each of their sets 6-1, while Aubert (No. 1) defeated Karen Martinez 6-3, 6-1. Aubert, a sophomore, improves to 8-3 on the year and is 25-7 in singles for her career.

At No. 2, Cardiff took down Harshini Reddy 6-2, 6-1 for her second straight win. In the No. 4 match, Howie came back from being blanked in the first set to win the next two matches 6-4, 10-5. Rounding out the results, Emma Pitre's 6-1, 6-4 victory at No. 6 gave Nicholls the sweep.

“It was good see Rachel (Howie) coming through strong today. Her best is yet to come,” Sundaram said. “Also a very solid performance at the bottom by Pitre. She played strong after a tough loss yesterday against Alcorn.”

Nicholls will have a few days off before hosting Southern Miss on March 3 for a makeup match. First serve at the Colonel Tennis Complex is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Nicholls 7, Jackson State 0
Singles competition
1. Marie Aubert (NICH) def. Karen Martinez (JSU) 6-3, 6-1
2. Natalia Cardiff (NICH) def. Harshini Reddy (JSU) 6-2, 6-1
3. Isla Brock (NICH) def. Rebekah Adewumi (JSU) 6-1, 6-1
4. Rachel Howie (NICH) def. Kesica Jayapalan (JSU) 0-6, 6-4, 10-5
5. Eva Castiglioni (NICH) def. Laura Rojas (JSU) 6-1, 6-1
6. Emma Pitre (NICH) def. Angela Condorelli (JSU) 6-1, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. Marie Aubert/Isla Brock (NICH) def. Harshini Reddy/Kesica Jayapalan (JSU) 8-4
2. Eva Castiglioni/Rachel Howie (NICH) def. Laura Rojas/Rebekah Adewumi (JSU) 8-3
3. Natalia Cardiff/Catherine Gauthier (NICH) def. Karen Martinez/Angela Condorelli (JSU) 8-3

Match Notes:
Nicholls 8-3
Jackson State 4-5