BENTONVILLE, Ark. - In a matchup between two of the NCAA Division II Central Region's top five teams, Harding backed up its Great American Conference women's tennis regular-season title by defeating Arkansas Tech, 5-3, to win its first GAC Tournament title on Saturday from the Memorial Park Tennis Complex.
After playing a 6-3 match two weeks earlier in Russellville that lasted in excess of four hours, the Lady Bisons (17-4) and Golden Suns (16-5) battled for nearly that length in time to determine who would claim the conference's first-ever automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Just like their regular-season contest, the Golden Suns gained a 2-1 lead from the doubles contests. Nozomi Matsuoka and Tamara Bell, the region's fourth-ranked doubles team, defeated Benyapa Phumtip and Piper Huey and the duo of Bohdana Sardak and Olga Leyshyna, the third-ranked tandem in the region, scored an 8-3 win at the No. 2 spot.
Harding's lone doubles win came from Lauren Doversola and Arielle Butler, an 8-3 win against Camila Roca and Laura Sanchez.
The Lady Bisons scored the first three singles victory to take a 4-2 advantage, but they did not come easily. Kaleigh Wagner beat Laura Sanchez 6-2, 6-6 (7-4) to level the contest, but each of the final five singles matches went the full three sets.
In a matchup between two members of the All-GAC First-Team, Huey gave Harding a 3-2 advantage when she defeated Sardak, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 at the No. 2 spot. Phumtip dropped the first set to GAC Newcomer of the Year Leyshyna, but won the final two sets 6-1, 7-5 to claim victory at No. 3.
Arkansas Tech's Bell extended the match as she rallied from a set down to beat Doversola 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 at No. 4.
With contests at No. 1 and No. 5 still undecided, the winning point came from Butler, a freshman, at No. 5. She claimed the opening set from Roca, 6-2, but lost the second set, 3-6. She broke Roca at 5-5 to give her the opportunity to serve for the title. She successfully held to secure the victory.
The Lady Bisons guaranteed themselves a spot in the field of seven at the NCAA Central Region Tournament. The Golden Suns, who entered the week ranked fifth, will learn if they earn an at-large bid during the NCAA Selection Show, set to stream on NCAA.com at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 29.
