SCAD Savannah Wins Women's Tennis Championship For Third Straight Year
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla – Top seed SCAD-Savannah (#3 NAIA) won The Sun Conference Women’s Tennis Championship with a 5-3 victory over second seeded Keiser (#4 NAIA) in the tournament finals held Friday at the Crandon Park Tennis Center. It marked the third consecutive season that the Bees have won the Sun Conference Women’s Tennis championship and their fourth title in the last five seasons.
SCAD Savannah came back to win the championship after trailing 2-1 after doubles play with the lone doubles win by the Bees coming in number two doubles. Johanna Weber (2nd Team All-Conference) and Karina Rovira (1st Team All-Conference) defeated KU’s Samantha Guy (2nd Team All-Conference) and Lorene Foerste 8-4.
SCAD’s deficit following doubles play came as a result of an 8-4 win by KU’s Meagane Bianco (1st Team All-Conference) and Julianna Heino (1st Team All-Conference), the conference’s doubles team of the year, over Camille Gbaguidi (1st Team All-Conference) and Paige Murdock (1st Team All-Conference) in number one singles along with an 8-5 win in number three doubles as Juliana Goncalves (2nd Team All-Conference) and Teodora Stanciu topped Valerie Droop (1st Team All-Conference) and Julia Albuquerque (1st Team All-Conference) 8-5.
The Bees then won four of the five singles matches that were finished to clinch the championship. Gbaguidi defeated Blanco 6-4, 6-4 in number one singles, while the Bees also picked up wins by Weber (6-2, 6-0 in no. 4 singles) and Albuquerque (6-2, 6-2 in no. 6 singles).
Meanwhile, Keiser won in number 3 singles as Goncalves defeated Rovira 6-3, 6-4 in number three singles.
With a 4-3 advantage for the Bees, Murdock won 6-4, 6-3 over Julianna Heino in number two singles to clinch the championship.
With the win, Keiser receives an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships to be held May 16-20 in Mobile, Ala.
The Sun Conference Championship was held at The Tennis Center at Crandon Park, the home of the Miami Open, on beautiful Key Biscayne, Fla., for the second consecutive year.