BENTONVILLE, Arkansas – Arkansas Tech and Henderson State each reversed two long trends to reach the final of the 2026 Great American Conference Women’s Tennis Championships. The Golden Suns became the first team to upset the top seed, this year Southeastern Oklahoma State, in the semifinals since 2015. Meanwhile, the Reddies held on against Harding to make their first-ever appearance in the GAC title contest.
In addition to the significance of upsetting the top seed of the GAC Championships, the Golden Suns (11-7) defeated the Savage Storm (11-8) for the first time in eight matches, dating back to April 21, 2022.
They started strong in doubles by winning the No. 1 and No. 2 matches. The No. 2 team of Lucia Perez and Natalya Montoya earned a 6-4 win. Tech's team of Elis Gergel and Rebecca Arnold, the No. 29 team, followed up with a 6-3 victory.
Arnold won her No. 5 singles match, 6-1, 6-1 to give Tech its second point. Southeastern’s Sreevally Medishetti secured a 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 6.
Montoya’s straight-sets win at No. 4 singles match - 6-4, 6-1 - followed by a win from Perez at No. 2 clinched the win and sent the Golden Suns to their sixth GAC Championship final.
Henderson State (11-8) started even faster. After locking up the doubles point, Jordan Parker and GAC Newcomer of the Year Emilia Nowak won their respective matches at No. 5 and No. 2 to move to a 3-0 lead.
In the four outstanding singles matches, the Reddies won the first set in three. The Lady Bisons (7-13) mounted a comeback, started by a win from Natalia Alvarez. Sofia Sarmiento Ruiz and GAC Player of the Year Karli Roux each overcame one-set deficits to capture three-set victories to tie the match, 3-3.
In the decisive point - No. 3 singles - the Reddies’ Adiya Abdugappar opened with a 7-5 win in set one. Ece Boylu answered back with a 6-3 win in set two. She took a 5-2 lead in set three only to see Abdugappar win four-straight games. Boylu answered back to force a tiebreak. Abdugappar clinched the match by taking the tiebreak, 7-3.
The Golden Suns and Reddies meet at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday with the GAC title and a spot in the NCAA Championships on the line. In the regular season, Henderson State pulled out a 4-3 win. The Golden Suns have made three trips to the NCAAs, all in a four-year span between 2012 and 2015. The Reddies have one NCAA appearance in their history; it came in 2007.