DENVER, Colo. - Into the late hours of the evening Friday, Omaha women's tennis secured a spot in the 2025 Summit League Women's Tennis Championship final as the Mavericks came-from-behind to take a 4-3 lead in the semifinal vs. Oral Roberts in a rematch of a regular season dual from nearly a week ago.
For Omaha, Saturday will mark the program's first Summit League final appearance since 2019 as the program seeks its first conference title.
The Mavericks will face top-seeded Denver at 2 p.m. CT on Saturday, April 19 for the crown.
Oral Roberts struck first, claiming the doubles point with victories at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. Luna Morini and Chara Grammatikaki defeated Omaha's
Zoe Adkins and
Paula Arcarons 6-2, while Cassie Cervantes and Arina Sorokina secured the point with a 6-3 win over Keegan Vanpelt and
Summer Shannon.
Omaha responded in singles play, rallying to take four of the six matchups.
Katelynn Kock got the Mavericks on the board with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Ava Goodell at No. 5.
Paula Arcarons followed up with a 7-5, 6-2 victory against Cervantes at No. 4, giving Omaha a 2-1 lead.
Oral Roberts briefly leveled the match as Grammatikaki outlasted
Khayli Buckels 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 at No. 2, but Omaha quickly regained control.
Nina Wiese battled past Morini 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-0 at No. 3, putting the Mavericks one point away from clinching the match.
With the semifinal hanging in the balance, VanPelt delivered the decisive victory, overcoming Abby Wise 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 at No. 6 to send Omaha to the championship match.
"What an amazing match. I'm so proud of the team and their effort today," said head coach
Adam Summitt after the match. "To lose to Ora Roberts on Sunday and to come back and beat them today says a lot about the resiliency of this group."
Summitt continued, "After losing doubles we knew it would be a close match. Everyone gave it their all in singles. There was a moment when we were down 2-3 in the meet and Keegan was [VanPelt] down 2-5. She played some clutch tennis and won five games in a row to win and clinch. Keegan was truly a rockstar for us today.
"This is a match that everyone on this team will carry with them for a long time."
Saturday's championship match will be streamed on the Summit League Network.
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