Box ScoreÂ
BENTONVILLE, Ark. — The first Great American Conference Tournament win for Southern Nazarene came in the first match played as SNU downed Harding 5-4 in a tightly contested match.
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The Crimson Storm had to go all the way to the third set of the final match at No. 4 to picks up the win though after leading 2-1 through doubles.
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The Bisons picked up the first win of the day with an 8-0 win over
Kaitlyn Atkeson and
Taylor Sullivan at No. 3 doubles, but the Storm picked up wins in the other two.
Masha Andrianova and
Natalia Moreno won 8-1 at No. 1 while
Polina Chala and
Karina Kotova won 8-2 at No. 3.
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Harding though picked up a win at No. 6 singles as Sullivan lost 6-1, 6-2, but Moreno scored a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 3 to give SNU a 3-2 lead in the match. The Bisons tied it at 3-3 when Atkeson lost 6-1, 6-0 at No. 5. Chala put the Storm one win away with a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 2, but Harding picked up a big win at No. 1 singles as Andrianova lost just her second match to a GAC opponent as she fell 6-4, 7-5.
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It all came down to No. 4 singles and
Karina Kotova. Â Kotova jumped out a 1-0 lead with a 6-4 win the first set, but dropped the second set in a tiebreaker 7-6 (7-2). The senior though answered the bell in the final set with a 6-3 win to seal it for SNU and propel the Storm into the semifinals against Southeastern Oklahoma State.