BENTONVILLE, Ark. – For the fifth time in the seven-year history of the Great American Conference Women’s Tennis Championships, the top two seeds advanced to the final as Oklahoma Baptist rallied to defeat Harding and Southeastern Oklahoma State eliminated Arkansas Tech on Friday from Memorial Park.
The Savage Storm (11-10) successfully began their bid for three consecutive GAC Championships by defeating Arkansas Tech, 5-1. After trailing at one point in all three doubles matches, Southeastern scored wins at the No. 3 and No.1 spots to grab a 2-1 lead. Diana Budnik and India Shiaelis won 9-8 (7-4) at No. 3 while Sandra Reljic and Nina Sergeev recorded an 8-6 win at No. 1. Kami Ward and Annabel Rowlands tallied the lone win for the Golden Suns (12-6).
Reljic added a win at No. 1 singles to her doubles win as she defeated Katharina Drebka, 6-4, 6-3. Budnik defeated Katie Harris at No. 6 singles, 6-3, 6-1 and Luisa Auffarth secured the team win with a 6-4, 6-4 win against Teresa Sanchez
Competing in its first-ever GAC Championships match, the top-seeded Lady Bison won their 10th-straight contest against a GAC foe, dating back to last season, with a 5-3 win against the Lady Bisons.
Harding (15-8) took two points in a hotly contested doubles session. Emily Faulkner and Jordan Shaw won 8-6 at the No. 3 spot and Hana Folse and Gabriella Alves earned a 9-8 (8-6) win at No. 2 doubles Harding’s two wins came after an 8-5 victory by Kateryna Shkot and Kim Moosbacher, the nation’s No. 20 tandem, at No. 1.
Harding extended its lead to 3-1 when Paulina Kostka tallied a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 6 singles. Oklahoma Baptist (13-4) began its comeback when Moosbacher won 6-1, 6-3 at No. 2. Madeleine Boepple leveled the match as she earned a 6-0, 6-3 win from the No. 5 position.
Alex Bowers defeated Folse, 6-3, 6-3, to push the Lady Bison to the precipice of the final. Shkot, the GAC Player of the Year, finished off the comeback as she knocked off Arisa Takanashi, a fellow All-GAC First Team performer, 6-1, 7-6 (7-1), at No. 1 singles.
The final begins at 2 p.m. on Saturday. During the regular season, the Lady Bison recorded a 7-2 victory against the Savage Storm.