Official Championship Page
G-MAC Championship Bracket (PDF)
Championship Program (PDF)
CEDARVILLE, Ohio – Four teams are set to gather at the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Women’s Tennis Championship to be conducted on the campus of Cedarville University later this week.
Alderson Broaddus, Cedarville, Davis & Elkins and Kentucky Wesleyan, are all hoping for more cooperative weather for the postseason after rainy conditions forced the field to the Dayton Indoor Courts in 2016.
The 2017 G-MAC Championship semifinals will play out on Friday, April 21, starting at 10 a.m. EST. with top seed, defending champion and 2016 NCAA Championship qualifier Davis & Elkins (11-10, 6-0 G-MAC) taking on No. 4 Kentucky Wesleyan (2-19, 0-6 G-MAC).
The second match of the day will get underway at 2 p.m. EST between host and No. 2 seed Cedarville (12-6, 4-2 G-MAC) squaring off against No. 3 Alderson Broaddus (2-11, 2-4 G-MAC).
The winner of each semifinal will meet in Saturday’s championship final starting at 10 a.m. EST.
In addition, members of the G-MAC All-Conference Team, including the freshman and player of the year, will be announced to the student-athletes on Thursday evening during an ice cream social.
Davis & Elkins and Cedarville have both laid claim to two G-MAC Championship trophies in the league’s four-year tournament history.
Cedarville won the inaugural offering in 2013, D&E took the honors in 2014, Cedarville reclaimed the trophy in 2015 and D&E brought the title back home to Elkins, W.Va., last year.
The top-seeded Senators have six of their last seven duals coming into this year’s tournament and enjoyed an undefeated stretch in conference play for the second straight season.
Newcomer Laura Fermosel leads D&E and the conference with 18 wins in singles action. She was a two-time G-MAC Athlete of the Week and earned monthly league honors in the shortened fall. Sophomore Elise Simon experienced conference championship glory as a rookie and has combined for 51 singles/doubles wins since 2015.
Another sophomore, Kelsie Roby, has won six straight singles matches and is 8-2 in her last 10 played. Simon, Roby, Haleigh Carper, Marlene Ridgway and Amanda Fewster, were all in last year’s starting lineup for coach Otis Cutshaw in the championship match.
No. 2 seed Cedarville has another impressive first-year student-athlete to showcase with G-MAC Athlete of the Week Janelle English and her 16 wins. English is undefeated in conference action and has won 16 straight going into Friday’s semifinal.
The Yellow Jackets are loaded with experience following the returns of No. 1 singles player Lauren Jackson, Rosie Thompson (15-2 singles) and Kristen Heydt (9-6 singles).
Alderson Broaddus collected two wins in conference play at the expense of Kentucky Wesleyan as both programs competed with an aggressive non-conference schedule.
AB freshman Rhea John earned G-MAC Athlete of the Week recognition this spring and led the Battlers with seven wins. Seniors Mireia Fabrega and Jordyn Walker are both four-year student-athletes and have combined for 50 singles wins and 53 doubles victories in their careers.
The Panthers earned two wins in regional competition against in-state opponent Oakland City. KWC features a young roster and the program enjoyed a Spring Break trip to sunny Orlando, Fla., where it played five contests packed into just six days.
KWC junior Abby Meyers won four singles matches this season after earning five in 2015-16 as a sophomore.