BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Ouachita Baptist successfully defended its Great American Conference Tournament title by again beating East Central in the final. In a matchup of Tigers, OBU emerged with a 5-2 victory on Saturday at the Memorial Park Tennis Complex.
 
Ouachita Baptist (13-7) grabbed two of the three doubles points led by the No. 1 team of Marko Boskovic and Vitor Oliveira. The GAC Player of the Year, Boskovic, and GAC Freshman of the Year, Oliveira, combined for an 8-6 win against Stefan Stein and Andrw Cabato. OBU also claimed the point at number two doubles. Helge Knuth and Marvin Muller defeated ECU’s Victor Blasco and Julain Caminos, 8-5.
 
East Central (7-10) grabbed the point at No. 3 doubles as GAC Newcomer of the Year Max DeJuan paired with Marc Fillat for their 10th win in their last 12 matches. They beat Teodor Anghel and Riccardo Bassani, 8-5.
 
Boskovic easily handled Stein, 6-1, 6-0; at the No. 1 singles spot to increase the OBU lead to 3-1. Blasco countered for East Central by beating Oliveira 6-3, 6-2 at the number four position.
 
With East Central attempting to rally, Ouachita Baptist ended the contest with wins at the No. 3 and No. 6 singles in almost simultaneous fashion. Muller secured the fourth OBU point of the day by beating Flllat, 6-4, 6-2; at number three singles. Three courts over, Leon Ferran earned the Championship-clinching point by defeating Cabato, 7-5, 6-3.
 
Ouachita Baptist entered the GAC Championships ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Division II Central Region standings. The Tigers will learn their postseason fate on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m.
 

Ouachita Baptist 5, East Central 2
Doubles:
#1 Marko Boskovic/Vitor Oliveira (OBU) def. Stefan Stein/Andrew Cabato, 8-6
#2 Helge Knuth/Marvin Muller (OBU) def. Victor Blasco/Julian Caminos, 8-5
#3 Max DeJuan/Marc Fillat (ECU) def. Teodor Anghel/Riccardo Bassani, 8-5
 
Singles:
#1 Marko Boskovic (OBU) def. Stefan Stein (ECU), 6-1, 6-0
#2 Helge Knuth (OBU) vs Max DeJuan (ECU) - DNF
#3 Marvin Muller (OBU) def. Marc Fillat (ECU), 6-4, 6-2
#4 Victor Blasco (ECU) def. Vitor Oliveira (OBU), 6-3, 6-2
#5 Teodor Anghel (OBU) vs. Julian Caminos (ECU) - DNF
#6 Leon Ferran (OBU) def. Andrew Cabato (ECU), 7-5, 6-3 * clinching point