Tweet #theGAC  BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Southeastern Oklahoma State, ranked No. 6 in the NCAA Division II Central Region rankings, and Arkansas Tech earned spots into the GAC Women’s Tennis Championship match as both found scoring matching 5-1 victories in Friday’s semifinals match at Memorial Park Tennis Complex. The Savage Storm took down Harding while the Golden Suns held off East Central.
 
The Savage Storm secured their first-ever trip to the GAC Women’s Tennis Championship final by all three points in the doubles competition. Anna Buiukian and Franzi Richtsfeld paired up to defeat Gabirella Alves and Brittany Smyser, 8-6, in the No. 3 doubles spot. Conchi Assiego and Maria Martinez’s 8-3 win against Harding’s Lexi Beaver and Emily Faulkner gave the Savage Storm a 2-0 lead. Alexsandra Reljic and Darja Catipovic increased the Southeastern lead to 3-0 after a 9-8 (8-6) win against Harding’s Laura Golubic and Piper Huey at the No. 1 doubles position.
 
Alves tallied Harding’s lone point of the match, a 6-0, 6-1 victory against Catipovic at the No. 3 singles position. A 6-1, 6-1 victory by Martinez against Smyser put the Savage Storm one point away from the victory. Richtsfeld defeated Harding’s Arielle Butler, 6-2, 6-4, to send the Savage Storm to Saturday’s GAC women’s title game.
 
In the other semifinal, Arkansas Tech opened with three doubles victories as well, as the Golden Suns secured their fourth GAC women’s championship match appearance with a 5-1 win against East Central. Tech’s No. 3 team of Teresa Sanchez and Annabel Rowlands defeated Becca Richison and Srijita Ghosh, 8-2, to give the Golden Suns a quick 1-0 lead. At the No. 2 doubles, the duo of Laura Sanchez and Camila Roca took down ECU’s Anna Garcia and Gloria Mayorga by an 8-4 score. Macarena Sedano Acosta paired with Tamara Bell to defeat Julia Municoy and Alex Makashov in a thriller, 9-8 (8-6).
 
Laura Sanchez gave Arkansas Tech a commanding 4-0 lead with a 6-4, 6-4 against Veronica Mijares at the No. 6 singles spot. Ghosh kept the Tigers in the match with a 6-4, 6-3 vs Roca, but Teresa Sanchez’s come-from-behind 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 against Makashov sent the Golden Suns back to the title match.
 
The Savage Storm and Golden Suns take the courts at 2 p.m. Southeastern defeated Tech 6-3 in Durant on April 8th. In GAC Championship history, the Golden Suns own a 3-0 record against the Savage Storm, having eliminated the Storm in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Arkansas Tech seeks to claim its GAC Women’s Tennis Championship, while Southeastern Oklahoma State looks to bring home its first.