HARLINGEN, Texas – Grand Canyon and Tarleton State will square off once again in the WAC Women’s Tennis Championship for the second year in a row as the two top seeds in the tournament won their semifinal matches at the HEB Tennis Center.
 
No. 1 Grand Canyon 4, No. 5 Abilene Christian 0
 
The Lopes were once again in control all match long as they held the Wildcats scoreless Friday afternoon to make their way to another championship match.
 
GCU won the doubles point after winning both courts one and two 6-4. Valentina Del Marco and Valeriia Krokhotina claimed the victory on court two while Natasha Puehse and Santa Strombacha took the win on court one.
 
The three Lopes who won their singles courts dominated their matches and won in straight sets. Lailaa Bashir picked up the second point for GCU with a 6-0, 6-2 win on court six, followed by Santa Strombacha notching the 6-1, 6-1 win on court two. WAC Player of the Year, Natasha Puehse, finished off the Wildcats by claiming court one 6-3, 6-0.
 
No. 2 Tarleton State 4, No. 3 UT Arlington 2
 
The match between the Texans and the Mavericks came down to a thrilling ending as both sides were facing tough heat conditions. 
 
Tarleton State made an early statement with a strong showing in the doubles courts. Maretha Burger and Martha Makantasi won court one 6-4 with Noelia Lorca and Emma Persson grabbing court three 6-3 to give the Texans a 1-0 lead.
 
Both sides put up competitive showings in the singles courts as both teams were having to fight against extreme heat conditions. UT Arlington was able to make up some ground after the conclusion of the first three singles matches as they tied the Texans at 2 apiece following match wins from Mariana Manyoma-Velasquez on court three 6-4, 6-4 and Bruna Casasampere on court five 6-0, 3-6, 6-3.
 
Emma Persson was able to complete the comeback on court one after falling in the first set 2-6 by winning the next two sets 6-4, 6-0 to put Tarleton State up 3-2.
 
UTA looked to be in good shape as they held a 5-0 lead in the third set on court six, but that was before Clara Sobius pulled off an incredible comeback by coming all the way back winning seven games in a row in the final set to clinch the match winning point for Tarleton State. Sobius won court six 4-6, 6-2, 7-5.
 
Championship Match
 
#1 Grand Canyon will meet with #2 Tarleton State for the second year in a row in the WAC Women’s Tennis Championship tomorrow at 12 PM CT.