RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - Arkansas Tech women's tennis will open postseason play on Thursday, April 19, as the Golden Suns face Southern Nazarene at 2 p.m. in the first round of the Great American Conference Championships in Bentonville, Ark.

The six-team tournament will be played at the Memorial Park Tennis Complex in Bentonville, where the third-seeded Suns will meet the sixth-seeded Crimson Storm for the second time this season. Arkansas Tech won this season's previous matchup, 7-2, and the Golden Suns have won six of seven  duals since the teams first met in 2011.

Arkansas Tech (11-5, 4-2 GAC) is currently ranked seventh in the NCAA Division II Central Region, as the Suns closed the regular season last week with wins over Harding and Henderson State to finish third in the conference regular-season standings. The Golden Suns are led by Katharina Drebka, who has played the No. 1 singles match in 14 of 15 duals this spring. Teresa Sanchez is 9-6 in singles, and she has won her previous two matches. Annabel Rowlands leads Tech with a 10-4 singles record, and she has won five of her last six matches. Kami Ward is 9-5 in singles, while Julia Schoch and Megan Bell are both 7-6.

The Golden Suns have used 12 different doubles combinations this spring, with the duo of Rowlands and Ward posting a team-best 6-2 record. Bell and Sanchez have given Tech a doubles victory in each of the past three duals.

Southern Nazarene (1-9, 1-5 GAC) has lost four consecutive matches, including a 5-3 loss to Southeastern Oklahoma State on Sunday. Polina Chala leads the Storm with a 6-4 record in singles play this spring, while Judit Mas is 5-5. In doubles, Chala and Mas have combined for a 3-2 record. In this season's previous match between Tech and SNU, the Suns took all three doubles points, before winning four of six singles matches. 

-FIGHTON-