ORLANDO, Fla. – Norfolk State women's tennis won the last four matches in singles competition to erase a 3-0 deficit and notch its first win of the season, 4-3, over Niagara at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida.
 
The Spartans (1-2) and Purple Eagles (4-8) split the first two doubles matches. Ali Hutchinson and Chhinda Som swept Tyrika Lee and Makayla Peterson, 6-0, to kick off the match. NSU responded with a decisive 6-1 victory by the pairing of Dajana Cvjetkovic and Paula Fortuno in the top-seeded flight.
 
With the doubles point at stake, the No. 2-seeded flight came down to the wire with Stella Peisakhova and Andreea Peteu defeating Ana Popovic and Bruna Goncalves, 7-6 (8-6).
 
Niagara claimed the first two points in singles competition and was on the verge of sealing the match early.
 
Hutchison and Alexandra Whitney secured 6-0, 6-0 sweeps at the No. 5 and No. 6-seeded singles flights.
 
From there, the Spartans pitched a shutout – storming back with four-straight points to win the match.
 
Popovic started the rally with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Som in the third-seeded flight. Cvjetkovic then outlasted Peisakhova in the top-seeded match, 7-6, 6-7, 6-2.
 
Fortuno knotted the match with a 7-6, 7-5 victory over Peteu in the second-seeded flight.
 
Tied at 3-3, the fate of the match rested on the No. 4-seeded flight, where Goncalves downed Shannon Wong 6-7, 6-0, 6-4 to give NSU its first win this season.
 
The Spartans look to carry the momentum of Tuesday's victory with them into tomorrow, when they face in-state foe Radford.