NEW ORLEANS — One. Win. Away.
A back and forth affair between the No. 4 seed NJIT women's tennis team and top seeded Northwestern State broke in favor of the Highlanders in a thrilling 4-3 semifinal upset Saturday afternoon at the University of New Orleans' University Tennis Courts.
The Highlanders will face No. 2 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Sunday, April 24 at 11am ET / 10am CT for the Southland Conference title, which would be the program's first conference crown since repeating as Great West champions in 2012 and first NCAA trip in the Division I era.
The match literally went point for point for the first six points of the match. NSU took a 1-0 lead after winning the top two doubles flights before Shalom Salvi knotted the match up with a straight set win at No. 6. The Lady Demons regained their advantage after a win at No. 4 but NJIT tied things up again when Amira Badawi matched Salvi by taking her No. 2 matchup in straight sets.
NSU would win the No. 5 to take a 3-2 edge and push NJIT to the brink, but the Highlanders would respond and step up when it mattered most.
Sandra Dzhambazov pulled NJIT even for a third time at 3-3 and Aya El Sayed clinched the historic with three set wins that saw them rally from a first set defeat.
A win Sunday over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi will give NJIT its first league championship since defeating Seattle University, 4-1, in the 2012 Great West Championship. It would also clinch the Highlanders' first trip to the NCAA Championships in the Division I era and first since the program reached the Division II tournament in 2005 (L, First Round, Millersville, 5-0)
NJIT 4, Northwestern State 3
04/23/2022 at New Orleans, La. (Privateers Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Aya El Sayed (NJIT) def. Rozalie Dohnalova (NSU) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3
2. Amira Badawi (NJIT) def. Tjasa Klevisar (NSU) 6-2, 6-4
3. Sandra Dzhambazov (NJIT) def. Mariella Minetti (NSU) 2-6, 7-5, 6-2
4. Ayu Ishibashi (NSU) def. Joleta Budiman (NJIT) 7-6, 6-2
5. Viktorie Wojcikova (NSU) def. Advaita Saravanan (NJIT) 7-6, 6-3
6. Shalom Salvi (NJIT) def. Patrycja Polanksa (NSU) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Mariella Minetti/Tjasa Klevisar (NSU) def. Aya El Sayed/Joleta Budiman (NJIT) 6-4
2. Viktorie Wojcikova/Rozalie Dohnalova (NSU) def. Advaita Saravanan/Amira Badawi (NJIT) 6-2
3. Patrycja Polanksa/Ayu Ishibashi (NSU) vs. Shalom Salvi/Sandra Dzhambazov (NJIT) 5-3, unfinished
Match Notes
NJIT 12-7
Northwestern State 15-5
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (6,4,2,5,3,1)
Official: David Fleuriet A-140
