Fire Fight Hard, Bested by Bees in Conference Postseason Match
BRUNSWICK, Ga.- The No. 21 Southeastern University women’s tennis team fought hard in their first postseason appearance since 2017. However, the third-seeded Fire bowed out of The Sun Conference Tournament in the semifinals to the second-seeded No. 5 ranked SCAD Bees 5-0.
The Fire trailed 2-0 in doubles’ play after an 8-1 loss at the top line, followed by a 8-2 defeat at No. 2 doubles.
The duo of Priscilla Baptista and Mia Dunagan competed in arguably the most entertaining match of the contest at No. 3 doubles.
After trailing 6-4, the SEU pair battled back to win three-straight games to pull ahead 7-6. The Bees responded to tie things up 7-7 and force a tiebreaker scenario. In the extra session, Baptista and Dunagan fell 7-3 to give SCAD a 3-0 lead after doubles’ play.
The Bees earned the winning decision 5-0 with victories at the No. 6 (6-0, 6-0) and 5 (6-0, 6-1) lines.
“We were playing a tough team and I thought we came out with a lot of energy and gave ourselves some chances,” shared Interim Head Coach Drew Dickens. “SCAD played great and took care of business but I was proud of our ladies and how they came out and competed.”
All four of Southeastern’s losses this season have come to programs currently ranked top-10 in the NAIA.
The Fire await to see if they will receive an at-large bid in the NAIA National Tournament.
