CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - On a gorgeous spring day in the Collegiate Conference of the South Tennis Tournament, the second quarterfinal of the day was filled with excitement. In a match that could not have been closer, the #5-seeded Agnes Scott Scotties (4-11, 4-4 CCS) won a nailbiting quarterfinal over the #4-seeded Huntingdon Hawks (5-6, 4-4 CCS), by a final score of 5-4. The Scotties advance to Friday's Semifinal for a date with the top-seeded Piedmont Lions (22-4, 7-0 CCS). With the win, the Scotties have now won 4 of their last 5 matches, with their lone loss in those contests coming against the Hawks on April 13 by an identical 5-4 scoreline.

In the doubles, the Scotties got on the board first as Annaliese Denbleyker and Katherine Cox received a win at No. 3 doubles when Huntingdon had to forfeit the match due to having only five players available. Down the early 1-0 hole, the Hawks clawed their way back with wins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles to put themselves in a 2-1 lead heading into the singles. It was the same scenario as their match with the Scotties just 12 days prior, but the Scotties were determined to make today a different outcome.

In the singles competition, the Scotties once again picked up a forfeit win, as Katiuska Toral Castillo picked up the first point of singles by forfeit at the No. 6 spot, leveling the match at 2-2 with 5 singles matches on court. All five courts were highly competitive matches, and the Scotties were able to race to leads in three of the five matches, taking the first set at No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5. At the top two spots, the Hawks took the first sets by identical 6-4 scores. In what would become common throughout the midday match, momentum swung side to side from there. 

At No. 3, All-Confernce Second Team member, Iris Ray, gave the Scotties the early advantage, continuing her strong sophomore campaign by downing Ella Hathcock, 6-3, 6-2, to give the Scotties the 3-2 lead overall. Huntingdon answered back as the Hawks' Natalie Tedesco closed out a close affair with Leilah Lewinson, 6-4, 6-3 at the No. 2 spot, evening the overall score at 3-3. At the No. 4 spot, senior Rosie Hagel would put the Scotties back on top once again, avoiding a third set in her match as she prevailed, 6-2, 7-6(4), to bring the Scotties within one win of the team victory, as they led 4-3.

The remaining two matches on court would both go into a deciding third set. Scottie freshman Allyson Gibbs battled Hawk junior Taji Williams on Court One, while Scottie senior Fabiola Garcia entered a third set with freshman Angelina Mazza of Huntingdon on Court Five. Williams was the first to claim a win in the final matches, downing Gibbs in a hard-fought 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 win. The match would come down to the other upperclass/freshman matchup, and once again, the experience prevailed, this time in favor of the Scotties. Garcia battled through the longest match of the day, finally downing Mazza, 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-3 to set off the Scottie celebration on court. 

The victory marks the first time since the 2016 season that a Scottie tennis team has advanced to a conference semifinal, when the 2016 team finished as Great South Athletic Conference runners-up to UC-Santa Cruz in the final GSAC Championship. Interim Head Coach Kenyon Generette-Oliver and his team will now look to make more history on Friday, as they try to become the first team in the conference this season to win a match against the Piedmont Lions. First serve at the Chattanooga Champions Club is scheduled for 10:00 a.m.