ST. LOUIS – The Missouri Baptist University women's tennis team began to hit its stride in the spring semester and used that momentum to make some noise in the NAIA Unaffiliated Group Tournament (AMC/HEART/SAC) on Wednesday and Thursday. The Spartans made it to the championship match and put up a fight against their ranked opponent – No. 1 seed and No. 16-ranked William Woods University, dropping the tournament final by a score of 4-2.
 
Along the way, Missouri Baptist defeated No. 7 seed Baker University and No. 3 seed Texas Wesleyan University. Unlikely to earn an at-large bid to the NAIA Women's Tennis National Championship, the Spartans ended their season at 14-9 and were winners in six of their last eight matches.
 
With a 4-1 record in the regular season against conference opponents, the MBU women claimed the No. 2 seed for the postseason tournament. The opening-round matchup with No. 7 seed Baker was a breeze as the Spartans cruised to a 4-0 win over the winless Wildcats.
 
MBU won the doubles point with an easy 6-0 win at No. 1 and a win by default at No. 3. MoBap earned another freebie point at No. 6 singles, meaning they needed just one more point to move on. Freshman Jocelynn Carmody had the honor at No. 3 singles, defeating Baker's Ciarra McWilliams, 6-0, 6-1.
 
Later in the day, the Spartans had a more dramatic finish in the semifinals against No. 3 seed Texas Wesleyan. Both No. 1 and No. 2 doubles went down to the wire, with the Rams edging MBU 7-5 at No. 1 and 6-4 at No. 2. The Spartans had to fight from behind to get the 'W.' Texas Wesleyan surrendered a point at No. 6 singles and another at No. 3 singles when Micaelli Magday bowed out due to injury while ahead of Carmody, 6-1, 4-3. Luana Luersen made quick work of her opponent (6-1, 6-0), leaving No. 5 singles as the deciding match. Mariana Azevedo took Set One to a tiebreaker and won 7-6 (4), and followed up with a 6-3 win to help MBU clinch the victory.
 
Friday's championship match against No. 1 seed and No. 16-ranked William Woods couldn't have started any better for the Spartans. MBU snagged the doubles point to take an early lead behind the strong play at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles. Camila Gomez and Luana Luersen, ranked 29^th in the latest ITA ratings, upset the ninth-ranked WWU duo (Marta Calvo Larraz/Hanna Lindeboom).
 
In singles play, Jocelynn Carmody earned a hard-fought point at No. 3 singles, defeating Owls' Kristi Dimitrijevic, 7-5, 7-5. Woods pulled ahead, 3-2, with wins at No. 4, No. 5, and No. 6 singles. The heartbreaker came at No. 2 singles, where Luana Luersen evened the match at 1-1 and led the third set 5-3 before a mad comeback and four straight games from WWU's Lena Greef.
 
While William Woods clinched the match, No. 1 singles standout Camila Gomez had 15^th-ranked Hanna Lindeboom on the ropes. Gomez won Set One, 7-6 (6), dropped the second set 6-2, and led Lindeboom 5-4 when the match was called.
 
Before the start of the tournament, the all-conference teams were announced, and the Spartans were well-represented. Earning First Team Singles honors were senior Camila Gomez and freshman Luana Luersen. The duo also collected First Team honors for doubles as well.
 
Freshman Jocelynn Carmody was named Second Team Singles, while Teodora Iacob and Mariana Azevedo were named Second Team Doubles.