TWU Captures AAC Women's Tennis Tournament Crown

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Tennessee Wesleyan won the Appalachian Athletic Conference Women's Tennis Tournament championship Wednesday, defeating SCAD Atlanta 4-1 at Champions Club in Chattanooga, Tenn. The top-seeded Bulldogs took control with two doubles victories and added three singles wins, with Ana Serrano delivering the championship point in a rematch of last year's title match between the same programs.

The result gave Tennessee Wesleyan the conference crown after SCAD Atlanta, the No. 2 seed, won the championship meeting between the teams a year ago. This time, Tennessee Wesleyan built its edge early. The Bulldogs earned doubles points at No. 2 and No. 3, where Ivet Prat and Ruslana Kovalenko posted a 7-5 win over Joann Leijten and Stella De Vera, and Honoka Tsuji and Laia Berne added a 6-2 result against Carmine Becoude and Manuella Eloundou. The No. 1 doubles match between Olivia Alcala and Serrano for Tennessee Wesleyan and Shalimar Talbi and Adrianna Kluska for SCAD Atlanta was tied 5-5 when play stopped.

In singles, Tennessee Wesleyan got a quick response from Olivia Alcala at No. 2. Alcala defeated Anastasija Stojanovic 6-1, 6-1, giving the Bulldogs a straight-sets win at a critical spot in the lineup. Tsuji followed with another point at No. 4, beating Eloundou 6-2, 6-3. Those performances put Tennessee Wesleyan within reach of the team title and offset SCAD Atlanta's work elsewhere in the draw.

SCAD Atlanta's lone completed team point came from Shalimar Talbi at No. 1 singles. Talbi beat Ruslana Kovalenko 6-4, 6-3 to keep the Bees in contention. A third singles match at No. 3 extended into a deciding set, with Carmine Becoude rallying after dropping the opening set against Berne. That match was left unfinished with Becoude ahead 3-6, 6-2, 2-1, while No. 6 singles also remained incomplete with Tennessee Wesleyan's Margarita Tatur leading Adrianna Kluska 6-3, 6-5.

The championship was settled at No. 5 singles, where Serrano beat Leijten 6-1, 6-4. Serrano's victory secured the fourth and decisive team point for Tennessee Wesleyan and closed out the conference final. In a championship match that matched the AAC's top two seeds and renewed last season's final, Tennessee Wesleyan answered with a 4-1 result and left Chattanooga with the tournament title.

With the tournament championship win, Tennessee Wesleyan receives an automatic berth to the NAIA National Championship Tournament, which is set for May 12-16 in Mobile, Ala.

Monday, April 20 - All matches will begin at 10 a.m.
Match 1 - No. 1 Tennessee Wesleyan def. No. 8 Truett McConnell, 4-0 (box)
Match 2 - No. 2 SCAD Atlanta vs. No. 7 Columbia, 4-0 (box)
Match 3 - No. 3 Brenau def. No. 6 Montreat, 4-1 (box)
Match 4 - No. 5 Milligan def. No. 4 Johnson, 4-2 (box)

Tuesday, April 21 - All matches will begin at 10 a.m.
Match 5 - No. 1 Tennessee Wesleyan def. No. 5 Milligan, 4-0 (box)
Match 6 - No. 2 SCAD Atlanta def. No. 3 Brenau, 4-0 (box)

Wednesday, April 22 - Match will begin at 10 a.m.
Match 7 - Championship Match - No. 1 Tennessee Wesleyan def. No. 2 SCAD Atlanta, 4-1 (box)