GSC CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
 
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - No. 9 and No. 5 seed West Florida women's tennis (16-8, 5-3 GSC) put up a strong effort but fell in the GSC Semifinals to No. 8 and top-seeded West Alabama (16-5, 8-0 GSC) 4-2 at Lagoon Park on Friday.
 
In a huge battle, the top-ranked doubles pairing in DII in Valentina Mutilba and Shaira Rivera got revenge on sixth-ranked Carlota Verdu and Sandra Recuenco for their upset loss to them in the regular season matchup, when the Argos claimed doubles but dropped a narrow 4-3 decision at home. Mutilba and Rivera won 6-3 after Lolita Hukasian and Greta Zawels won 6-2 on court three over Guadalupe Martinez and Aline Midori Da Silva to clinch the opening point.
 
GSC Freshman of the Year Alexa Milliam, ranked No. 16 in DII singles play, put her team up 2-0 with a pair of clean 6-0 sweeps of Recuenco on court two. Martinez got a point back for her team with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Emiri Takanishi, and Midori Da Silva tied the match with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Mutilba to make the Tigers sweat. However, in the lone ranked singles matchup, No. 17 Rivera came out on top 7-5, 6-2 over No. 22 Verdu at the top of the lineup. On the other end, Zawels claimed her matchup over Luiza Daud in three sets 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 to eliminate the Argos.
 
UWF is left to wait for a berth to the NCAA DII South Regional. The Argos are seeded No. 6 and would receive a bid as it stands now with their 11-5 record in South Region play, but are one spot ahead of Mississippi College who will now play the Tigers for the GSC title. The DII tennis selection shows are on Monday, May 6 at 7:30 pm CT. 
 
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