Evangel Earns Women's Tennis Title, 5-2

TOPEKA, Kan. – Top-seeded Evangel won the Unaffiliated Group Women's Tennis Tournament championship on Saturday, April 25 with a 5-2 victory in the championship match against second-seeded Graceland. The tournament included teams from the Heart of America Athletic Conference, American Midwest Conference, and the Midwest Collegiate Conference.

Evangel opened the second day of the tournament with a 5-0 win against fourth-seeded Baker in the semifinal round. It was Evangel's second consecutive 5-0 win in the tournament.

The Crusaders won all three doubles matches, winning 8-2, 8-3, and 8-2. Evangel's top doubles team of Amy Fritz and Jenna Elliott won both of their matches Saturday and all three in the tournament. The Crusaders won eight of their nine tournament doubles matches in the event. Their lone loss was in the championship match, an 8-6 loss in #2 doubles featuring Breanna Feemster and Alicia Williams against Zahra El Otmany and Melynda Simmons of Graceland.

Evangel won two singles matches in the semifinal match to close out Baker. Amy Fritz won her singles match in straight sets 6-0, 6-0, and Breanna Feemster won her match 6-0, 6-1. The postseason matches are a best-of-nine with three doubles pairings and six singles match-ups.

In the finals, Evangel won three of four singles matches with wins in singles by Breanna Feemster, a 6-2, 6-4 win, and Natalia Dollar winning 6-1, 6-3, while Morgan Reilly won 6-3, 6-3.

Evangel improved to 10-3 on the season and Baker ended its season 2-8. Graceland dropped to 9-4 and will hope for an at-large berth to the NAIA Women's Tennis National Championships, May 12-16 at the Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Ala.

Evangel claims an at-large berth to the natioanl championship to make its fourth trip in program history and second in the last three seasons. The NAIA will announce the tournament bracket next week.

Doubles
#1 Fritz/Elliott (EU) def. Worring/Rodriguez (GU) 8-3
#2 El Otmany/Simmons (GU) def. Feemster/Williams (EU) 6-8
#3 Dollar/Reilly (EU) def. Haberthier/Cardiel (GU) 8-1


Singles
#3 Breanna Feemster (EU) def. Zahra El Otmany (GU) 6-2, 6-4
#4 Melynda Simmons (GU) def. Alicia Williams (EU) 4-6, 2-6
#5 Natalia Dollar (EU) def. Amy Haberthier (GU) 6-1, 6-3
#6 Morgan Reilly (EU) def. Karina Cardiel (GU) 6-3, 6-3
#1 Amy Fritz (EU) vs. Jessica Worring (GU) DNF
#2 Jenna Elliott (EU) vs. Katherine Rodriguez (GU) DNF