OWENSBORO, KY — The No. 14 nationally ranked and top-seeded University of Findlay Oilers captured the 2026 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Women's Tennis Championship on Saturday, sweeping the Tiffin University Dragons 4-0 at Centre Court. With the dominant championship victory, the Oilers extended an incredible season, claimed the conference crown, and secured an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional tournament.
The championship-clinching moment arrived on the No. 2 singles court. After Findlay had built a commanding 3-0 overall team lead, Maria Batinic delivered the final blow, fighting off Tiffin’s Francesca Milani to secure a 6-3, 7-5 straight-set victory and seal the 4-0 championship sweep for the Oilers.
Findlay set a relentless tone from the start of the finale by capturing a fiercely contested doubles point. The Oilers' duo of Anamarija Kovacevic and Audrey Ouellet struck first at the No. 1 flight with a 6-3 win over Tiffin's Jemimah Choi and Brooke McNeal. The Dragons responded when Milani and Imani Shah defeated Polina Zaytseva and Batinic 6-4 at No. 3. The opening point ultimately came down to the No. 2 flight, where Ivanova Lucero and Valentina Salek clinched the 1-0 advantage for the Oilers with a clutch 6-4 victory over Erna Brdarevic and Katarina Yates.
Carrying the momentum into singles play, the top of the Findlay lineup overpowered the Dragons. Salek was the first off the court, cruising to a 6-0, 6-3 victory over McNeal at No. 3 singles. Kovacevic quickly followed suit at the No. 1 spot, besting Choi 6-3, 6-2 to push the Oilers' lead to 3-0 and perfectly set the stage for Batinic's clincher. At the time the match was called, Ouellet was firmly in control at No. 5 singles, leading 6-3, 5-0, while Zaytseva (No. 4) and Lucero (No. 6) trailed in their respective flights that were ultimately left abandoned.
The Oilers' path to Saturday's championship included an equally flawless 4-0 sweep over the Walsh University Cavaliers in Friday's tournament semifinals. Findlay completely overwhelmed Walsh, gaining the early advantage by sweeping doubles play. Zaytseva and Batinic struck first with a 6-3 win at No. 3, while Kovacevic and Ouellet officially clinched the doubles point with a 7-5 victory at No. 1. Lucero and Salek closed out the sweep seconds later with a 7-5 win at No. 2.
The middle of Findlay's lineup absolutely shut down the Cavaliers in Friday's singles action. Salek delivered a flawless 6-0, 6-0 "double-bagel" victory over Eliza Verstappen at No. 3, and Batinic quickly pushed the lead to 3-0 with a commanding 6-3, 6-1 win over Taira Abildayeva at the No. 2 spot. After rain forced the remaining matches indoors to finish, Zaytseva delivered the clinching blow for the Oilers by defeating Aleksandra Chmir 6-4, 6-1 at No. 4 singles to secure the sweep and punch their ticket to the finals.