BENTONVILLE, Arkansas - Harding and Arkansas Tech advanced to the semifinals of the 2026 Great American Conference Women's Tennis Championships. The Golden Suns defeated Ouachita Baptist for their first victory at the GAC Championships since 2023. Southern Arkansas pushed the Lady Bisons to brink before Brooke Coffman eearnd the decisive point, despite dropping the opening set.
Match #1 - No. 3 Harding 4, No. 6 Southern Arkansas 3 || Box Score ||
No. 3 seed Harding survived a back-and-forth thriller in the opening round of the Great American Conference Tournament, edging Southern Arkansas 4-3 on Friday morning at Memorial Park.
The Lady Bisons secured the win in dramatic fashion when freshman Brooke Coffman rallied at No. 2 singles. After dropping the first set, Coffman forced a third-set tiebreaker and outlasted Roksana Kokocha 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) to clinch the match and send Harding to the semifinals.
Harding got off to a fast start by securing the doubles point. Mia Hosking and Paula Rega won by default at No. 3, and the top-flight duo of Karli Roux and Brooke Coffman clinched the point with a 6-4 victory over Taylor Conway and Roksana Kokocha.
In singles play, Harding benefited from a default win by Sofia Sarmiento Ruiz at No. 6 and an injury retirement at No. 5, where Mia Hosking was awarded the match over Victoria Perez.
However, the Muleriders fought back with three straight victories. Newly minted GAC Player of the Year Karli Roux suffered a rare setback at the top flight, falling 6-4, 6-4 to SAU's Jolina Mass. Southern Arkansas also picked up wins at No. 3 and No. 4 to tie the overall match at 3-3, setting the stage for Coffman's heroics at the No. 2 position.
Harding (7-12) advances to the GAC semifinals to face No. 2 seed Henderson State. The match is scheduled for Saturday, May 2, at 11 a.m.
Full Harding Recap
Southern Arkansas Recap
Match #2 - No. 4 Arkansas Tech 4, No. 5 Ouachita Baptist 0 || Box Score ||
The No. 4-seed Arkansas Tech women's tennis team won their opening round match of the 2026 Great American Conference Tournament on Friday with a 4-0 shutout against No. 5-seed Ouachita Baptist.
With the win, the Golden Suns advance to the GAC Tournament semifinals on Saturday morning and will take on No. 1-seed Southeastern Oklahoma. That match is slated for an 11 a.m. start time.
In the match against Ouachita, the Golden Suns made quick work of the Tigers in doubles play with a 6-0 win at top-flight from their No. 29-ranked pairing of Elis Gergel and Rebecca Arnold. The Golden Suns then secured the doubles point with a 6-3 win at No. 2.
In singles, Rebecca Arnold won the first match at No. 5, winning 6-3, 6-1. Gergel then won at No. 1 singles, 6-0, 6-4. The clinching match came at No. 3 as Monica Balau won 7-5, 6-4. The remaining three singles matches on court went unfinished once Balau clinched the match for Tech.
Ouachita Baptist Recap