THIBODAUX, La. - The Nicholls State University women's and men's tennis programs make the short trip to New Orleans this weekend for the 2022 Southland Conference Championships, held at the University Tennis Center on the campus of University of New Orleans. 

Both teams open play Friday and are scheduled to take on the New Jersey Institute of Technology, which is in its first season as a conference member in tennis. The women's match against NJIT is scheduled for 1 p.m. while the men will play the Highlanders at 4 p.m.

The Colonel women's tennis ended the regular season with a 12-10 overall record and a 3-3 mark in the Southland, earning the No. 5 seed in the tournament. With a win over Jackson State on Tuesday, they secured their first winning campaign since the 2015 championship season. The Colonels' three league wins came against Southeastern, McNeese and UIW.

NJIT posted a 10-7 overall record to earn the No. 4 seed. The Highlanders played two league opponents, falling 6-1 to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi before taking down UIW, 5-2. 

The winner of the match will advance to Saturday's round to take on the winner of No. 1 Northwestern State vs. No. 8 Southeastern. 

The Colonel men's team also won at Jackson State, capping their regular season with three victories in the last four matches. They also finished with a winning record at 10-9, but fell in all three conference matches. 

NJIT brings a 9-8 record into the matchup, including two 6-1 losses to UIW and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.  The winner of the match advances to play top-seed AMCC.