Tweet #theGAC  BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Southeastern Oklahoma State, ranked No. 3 in the NCAA Division II Central Region rankings, and East Central earned spots into the GAC Men’s Tennis Championship match as both found victories in Friday’s semifinals match at Memorial Park Tennis Complex. The Savage Storm took down Harding, 5-1, while East Central upset Ouachita, 5-4.
 
The Savage Storm secured their second consecutive trip to the finals by opening up with two doubles victories. Petar Popovic paired with Mislav Colak opened the match with a 8-2 victory in No. 3 doubles against Brandon Hogland and Chase Stumne. Harding quickly answered back as its No. 1 team of Carlos Crisostomo partnered with Henrique Vieira to take down the duo of Maksim Fil and Tiago Ferreira, 8-2. Netanel Alcabas and Alberto Blesa gave the Savage Storm the last lead change, as they defeated Harding’s pairing of Neto Cacace and Adrian Torrico, 8-6.
 
Alcabas’ 6-2, 6-1 victory over Torrico gave the Savage Storm their third point. Ferreira provided Southeastern Oklahoma State with its fourth point with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Stumne. Colak put the finishing touch on things with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Hogland to send the Savage Storm back to the GAC Men’s Championship match.
 
In the other semifinal, East Central recorded its first win against Ouachita in five GAC Tennis Tournament postseason meetings with a come-from-behind 5-4 thriller.
 
Erik Eldagsen and Sergio Espias opened things up with an 8-6 victory against Ouachita’s Lennart Lonnermann and David Carbo to give the Tigers a quick 1-0 lead. Harding’s Maciej Braciszweicz and Jason Mechali held on to a 9-7 victory at the No. 3 doubles spot vs Stefan Schodlbauer and Alex Fillat; tying the match up at 1-1. The duo of No. 18 Victor Oliveira and Luis Chab found a win at the No. 1 doubles spot against ECU’s Adria Abella and Albert Lapiedra, 9-8 (7-4).
 
Albert Lapiedra earned a 6-2, 6-0 victory against Mechali to tie the match up at 2-2. Chab’s 6-2, 6-2 vs Eldagsen gave Ouachita a 3-2 lead. Up next, No. 47 Victor Oliveira defeated the GAC Men’s Player of the Year, Sergio Espias, 6-2, 6-2 to put Ouachita one victory away from the championship game.
 
Fillat kept East Central alive with a 6-2, 7-5 against Braciszweicz. Abella followed that with a three-set win, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3; to tie the match at 4-4. East Central’s Marc Lerch came from behind and defeated Carbo, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3; to send the Tigers to the GAC Men’s Championship Match for the first time since 2014.
 
East Central holds a 2-0 record against Southeastern Oklahoma State in GAC Championship play. The Tigers last beat the Savage Storm in 2013, a 5-2 decision. During the 2016 regular season, the Savage Storm ousted East Central in a thriller, 5-4, in Ada, Okla. on April 12.