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ST. LOUIS - The final day of the 2026 OVC Women's Tennis Championship will feature a matchup between the regular season champions and the defending OVC tournament champions. SIUE claimed the regular season title by finishing undefeated in conference play. Bryant won the 2025 OVC Tournament by deating Southeast Missouri, 4-2. The finals are scheduled for 12:00 p.m. CT.
This year marks the 50th time the women's championship has been contested (it was first held in 1977).
SUNDAY'S MATCHES
#3 Bryant 4, #1 SIUE 2
Box Score |
Live Stats
#3 BRYANT 4,
#1 SIUE 2
ST. LOUIS - The Bryant women's tennis team won its second consecutive OVC championship, defeating the SIUE Cougars by a final score of 4-2 on Sunday afternoon.
This marks Bryant's ninth conference championship in program history and their fourth in the Division I era. They've won the OVC title in both seasons as an affiliate member of the conference. The Bulldogs clinched an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament with the victory, marking their ninth tournament appearance and fourth as a Division I program under the direction of head coach Barbara Cilli.
The Bulldogs started the match by clinching the doubles point to go up 1-0. Despite Lisa Dugec and Lucia Pino suffering the loss at No. 2 (6-3), Natalia Vela and Maria Jose Hernandez continued their dominance at No. 1 by securing the win (6-3). The point came down to Yahli Noy and Laura Stypula at No. 3 doubles. The duo won a back-and-forth affair in a tiebreaker (7-6) [7-5] to solidify the doubles point and set Bryant up nicely for singles play.
The Cougars battled back to gain ground in singles play, earning victories at No. 5 and 6 to pull ahead 2-1. Natalia Vela leveled the match at 2-2 by picking up the win at No. 2 singles (6-3, 6-3). Maria Jose Hernandez took care of business at No. 4 singles (6-4, 6-4) to put Bryant on the verge of victory up 3-2. Then, the OVC Freshman of the Year Laura Stypula sealed the deal at No. 3 singles (7-5, 6-4) to clinch the conference championship for the Bulldogs.