BEAUMONT, Texas – Seattle U women's tennis advanced to the finals of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament, defeating Abilene Christian 4-3 on Saturday. Freshman Liliya Dimova (7-5, 2-6, 6-2) sends the Redhawks to the championship match after defeating Allison Stewart to break the three all tie. The WAC semifinal match was played at Beaumont Municipal Tennis Center in Beaumont, Texas.
"What an amazing performance by our team today," said Head Coach Kristina Hollander. "Everyone was ready for a battle and delivered in a big way. We have been very focused and determined throughout this tournament and it showed today. Excited for another one tomorrow.
The Redhawks opened the match by claiming the doubles point. Junior Jade Lancaster and freshman Mireia Fehr (1-6) fell to Ileana Mocciola and Eva Arranz to start doubles play but senior Hannah Grossman and freshman Jade Quintana (6-3) tied the dual match at one with their first victory as a pairing over Maryjoe Crisologo and Andrea Guerrero. Freshman Liliya Dimova and Elena Kraleva (7-6 (7-5)) sealed their sixth consecutive win to clinch the doubles point against Sylvia Viljoen and Allison Stewart.
Seattle U fell behind to start singles play as Senior Jillian Rasmussen (2-6, 1-6) and Quintana (3-6, 1-6) dropped their matches against Paula Garrote and Viljoen, respectively. Kraleva would clinch her second straight singles victory against Guerrero in identical sets of 6-2, 6-2, before senior Aranza Alvarez Sanabria (6-7 (7-9), 1-6) fell to Mocciola on court five. Fehr (3-6, 6-4, 6-2) tied the dual match at three all with her fifth consecutive singles victory against Crisologo on court one. Dimova's fifth consecutive singles victory puts the Redhawks in the WAC championship match for the first time in program history.
The Redhawks face off against New Mexico State in the WAC championship match at 10 a.m. Pacific Time in the Beaumont Municipal Tennis Center.
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