RUSTON – The Northwestern State tennis team caps its fall season at the two-day Louisiana Tech Invitational, beginning Saturday at the Louisiana Tech Tennis Complex.

The two-day tournament concludes Sunday.

For the Lady Demons, the five-tournament run that ends in Ruston has been a productive journey.

“We’re really excited about the way we are finishing the fall, even though we are still not where we want to be,” fourth-year head coach Marco Morelli said. “At the beginning of the fall, we said where we wanted to be at the end. Even though we’re still not yet where we want to be, we are in a good position.”

The Lady Demons were in perfect position in their most recent tournament, going unbeaten at the Sam Houston Invitational from Oct. 16-18.

That included a 3-0 performance from freshman Nico Tagami. Tagami and fellow freshman Zala Vnuk each have produced strong fall seasons in their first taste of college tennis.

“Both of them have come a long way,” Morelli said. “There is still growth to be made, improvement to be made, but they have improved their tennis skills quite a bit.”

Perhaps most importantly for Northwestern, its health is improving.

The Lady Demons will send five players to Louisiana Tech, one of its larger contingents of the fall. Making the trip north are Tagami, Vnuk, senior Honoka Umeda and sophomores Martina Acebedo Bonocore and Athina Grigoriadou.

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Photo: Sophomore Martina Acebedo Bonocore and the Lady Demons cap their fall season this weekend at Louisiana Tech. Credit: Gary Hardamon/NSU Photographic Services