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 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)