RUSSELLVILLE -- The Great American Conference announced the schedule this week for the men's and women's conference tennis tournaments, which begin today.
Henderson (4-9, 2-4) opens the women's 2018 Great American Conference Tennis Championships tournament today at 2 p.m. as the No. 5 seed in the women's tournament at Memorial Park in Bentonville. The Reddies will face fourth-seeded Harding (14-7, 3-3). Henderson notched a 6-3 non-conference win earlier in the season, but Harding tallied a 5-4 league win on April 4.
The other first-round matchup today pits third seed Arkansas Tech (11-5, 4-2) against the sixth seed Southern Nazarene (1-9, 1-5). Ouachita Baptist (0-15, 0-6) did not qualify for the tournament.
The top two women's seeds, Oklahoma Baptist (12-4, 6-0) and Southeastern Oklahoma State (9-10, 5-1), have byes through the first round and will hit the courts in Friday's afternoon semifinal matches. The Lady Bisons won the regular season title with an undefeated GAC record for the second time in three seasons.
They will face the winner between Harding and Henderson. They shut out the Reddies and beat the Lady Bisons, 5-1.
The Savage Storm will begin their bid for a third straight GAC Championship crown against either the Golden Suns or the Crimson Storm. They edged Arkansas Tech, 5-4, on April 8 and bested the Southern Nazarene, 5-3, on Sunday.
Friday's play begins at 10:30 a.m. with the men's semifinals. Top-seeded Southeastern (8-7, 3-0) drew Ouachita (2-14, 0-3), while Harding (13-6, 2-1) faces defending champion Oklahoma Baptist (7-7, 1-2). The Savage Storm defeated the Tigers, 7-2, on April 8 and the Bisons beat the Bison, 5-1, in their regular season finale.
The men's final will be held on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. The women's final will follow at 2 p.m.
Sports on 04/19/2018