Women's Tennis | 4/26/2025 7:57:41 PM

EVANSVILLE, Ind- In each of the past three seasons, the River States Conference championship in women's tennis has come down to a title match between Oakland City and Midway. 

And in each of those three seasons, its been the Mighty Oaks to claim the title.

Oakland City finished off their three-peat as River States Conference Women's Tennis Tournament champions, claiming a 4-0 victory over second-seeded Midway at the Wesselman Tennis Complex in Evansville, Indiana. Oakland City has not lost a match to an RSC opponent since April 30, 2022, when the Mighty Oaks fell to IU East in the championship match of the conference tournament.

Oakland City made their impact early in the championship match, claiming the first doubles point quickly, courtesy of a 6-1 win at the second flight from Isabela Todorovic and Tiana Sparks. Juliana Puente and Melissa De Jong clinched the doubles point shortly thereafter, winning at the third flight by a score of 6-2. The top doubles match, between OCU's Cristina Hurtado & Maria Trembach and Midway's Agustina Olivero & Mara Guillen, was the closest of the three, with the Midway duo holding a 4-3 lead at the time of clinch.

It took just about an hour for the Mighty Oaks to build a 3-0 lead in the final, thanks to wins at the third and fifth singles flights. Cristina Hurtado and Isabela Todorovic won identical decisions, claiming wins of 6-2, 6-0. The clinching point came about ten minutes later, courtesy of Melissa De Jong, a 6-1, 6-2 winner at the fourth flight. Of the three unfinished matches, the matches at the first and second flights had Oakland City players leading, while the match at the sixth singles flight was heading into a third set.

Leading up to the Oakland City-Midway final, Friday produced a pair of tighter quarterfinals before a pair of 4-0 sweeps in Saturday's semis. IU Southeast and IU Kokomo were both victorious in the quarterfinal matches played indoors at the Evansville Tennis Center, winning by identical scores of 4-2. The semifinals both heavily leaned towards the favorties, as both Oakland City and Midway won 4-0 - Oakland City over IU Southeast and Midway over IU Kokomo.

The Mighty Oaks, ranked among the top receiving votes schools in the final version of the NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches Poll, now prepare for the 44th Annual NAIA Women's Tennis National Championships, scheduled for May 13-17 at the Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Alabama. Oakland City will learn their opponent on Tuesday, when the national championship qualifiers are released by the national office in Kansas City. It will be Oakland City's third ever trip to the national tournament, and the Mighty Oaks will head to Mobile in search of the first national tournament win in program history.