Tweet #theGAC  BENTONVILLE, Ark. – On Friday, Southeastern Oklahoma State and Southern Arkansas registered matching 4-0 victories in the first round of the 2022 Great American Conference Women’s Tennis Championships from Memorial Park.

The Savage Storm (18-7) dispatched Ouachita (2-18) to reach the semifinals for the ninth time in 10 seasons. In doubles play Skye Royall and Georgia Hosking scored a 6-1 win from the No. 1 position. Vanessa Cozamanis and Sara Gonzales notched a 6-2 win at No. 2 while Vanessa Nitu and Elizaveta Tregubova nearly simultaneously earned a 6-2 win at No. 3.

In the singles portion Cozamanis claimed the first point as she won in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1, against Shelly Davilus in the No. 6 match. At No. 4, Hosking pushed the lead to 3-0 with a similarly dominant 6-1, 6-1 win against Clarisa Valenzuela. Tregubova clinched the win by defeating Ali May, 6-1, 6-2, in No. 4.

The Savage Storm take on second seed Arkansas Tech in Saturday’s semifinal. The Golden Suns earned a narrow 4-3 win during the regular season.

The Muleriders (5-16) avenged last season’s first-round GAC Championships loss to Henderson State by defeating the Reddies (5-11), 4-0. SAU picked up doubles wins from its No. 2 team, Lena Milosevic and Simone Simas, and No. 3 tandem, Sarah Roy and Serena Gill to earn the first point of the match.

In singles play, the Muleriders picked up straight-sets wins from the No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 positions to advance to the semifinals. Simas won, 6-1, 6-1, at No. 4; Gill posted a 6-1, 6-2 victory at No. 5 and Kalley Smith notched a 6-2, 6-0 triumph at No. 6.

The Muleriders earned their first win at the GAC Championships since defeating Harding in the final of the 2019 Championships. They face the top-seeded Lady Bisons in Saturday’s semifinal. Both matches begin at 1 p.m.