Box Score NATCHITOCHES, La. – Freshman Ana Jolic completed a comeback on court five singles to help Lamar University secure a comeback for a 4-3 victory in their Southland Conference opener at Northwestern State Friday afternoon. The Cardinals had to rally from an early deficit, and Jolic had to battle back from being down 5-3 and 6-5 in the third set for the thrilling victory.
 
Friday's match, which saw LU improve to 4-2 (.667) on the season, saw three matches go to a third set with Big Red winning two of the three.
 
"I'm very proud of everyone on this team," said LU head coach David Wong. "Each one of these young ladies fought for every point – whether they were up or down or whether they won or lost – they just never stopped fighting. I couldn't be more proud of this team. These young ladies demonstrated today that they won't quit. We played solid on every single court."
 
The Demons took the first lead of the day after taking matches on courts two and three for the point. After Northwestern State took the first match, the duo of Bianca Vitale and Alba Perez won at the No. 2 spot to even things up before Northwestern State was able to escape with a win at No. 3.
 
Trailing by one, the Cardinals quickly rallied with straight-set victories at Nos. 3 and 4 singles from Natalia Garcia Molina and Perez, but the Demons tied things back up with a victory on court 6. With the match tied at 2, the remainder of the contest would be a sprint to 2, but that sprint eventually became a marathon.
 
The Demons reclaimed a one-point advantage with a three-set victory at No. 2 singles. Unfortunately, Vitale found herself having to dig out of an early hole dropping the first set to Northwestern State's Mariella Minetti, 6-0. In between sets, Vitale regrouped the way seniors are expected to and turned her match around. After willing her way to a 7-5 win in the second set, Vitale cruised to a 6-3 decision in the third. Vitale's victory redirected the momentum of the overall match.
 
"I felt like things switched after Bianca's win," said Wong. "She showed real leadership today. After finding a way to turn around a 6-0 loss in the first set and then go on to win the match, that created some momentum the rest of the team fed off of. It really seemed to charge us up."
 
Seizing on the opportunity, an playing an almost mirror image of the match on court one, Jolic clawed her way back from a 6-1 setback in the first set. Just like court one, she would hold on for a 7-5 victory in the second to set up the decisive third.
 
Again, Jolic would have to rally, trailing 5-3 in the third. After tying the set and 5, Northwestern's Judit Castillo Gargallo to a 6-5 advantage into the 12th game only to see Jolic mount one more rally to tie the set at 6. Jolic's effort in the 12^th was a backbreaker as she would go to post an 8-6 decision in the tiebreak for the individual and team win.
 
The Cardinals return to action Sunday when the travel to Conway, Ark., to take on Central Arkansas. The match against the Bears will begin at 11 a.m. from the UCA Tennis Courts.