RELATED LINKS: Championship Central | Photo Galleries (Courtesy of ITA)

KEARNEY, Neb. – The No. 7 University of West Alabama women's tennis team claimed bronze at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Indoor Championships on Sunday with a 4-1 result over No. 5 Saint Leo University from the Ernest Grundy Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Nebraska at Kearney. 

Seeded fifth in the tournament, West Alabama's third place finish at the championship is the best finish since the ITA started the tournament in 2020, surpassing the team's fourth place finish in 2022. 

Finishing 2-1 on the weekend in the Cornhusker State, the Tigers are now 4-3 on the season, while the Lions fall to 4-2. 

"It was a great win for the women today against a very strong team. I feel the women rebounded from yesterday the way that good programs do, and I feel we will keep raising our level as the year progresses," said head coach Jeff Beaman.

Coming off a loss in doubles on Saturday against nationally-ranked Barry, UWA got back to their winning ways again on Sunday. Shaira Rivera and Hardija Vidnere won the No. 1 flight 6-2 to earn their sixth win of the season and remain unbeaten. All knotted up at two early in the set, the Tigers won the final four straight games. 

Minutes later, the Tigers secured the doubles point with a 6-4 win by Khim Iglupas and Heden Ly (2-1). After SLU cut the score to 5-4 on four straight points, UWA responded by winning the final game. 

With the contest moving to singles, Khim Iglupas (4-0) made it 2-0 in favor of West Alabama with her win at the top flight, 6-3, 6-2.

Kamilya Shailina did put SLU on the board, 2-1, with her win at the No. 4 flight, 6-4, 6-3. However, Ly (2-3) restored order with a 6-3, 6-4 victory at the No. 3 spot in the lineup and the 3-1 lead for the Tigers.

Needing one more point to clinch, Rivera was coming off a 7-3 tiebreak in the second set and was underway in the third at the No. 2, and Greta Zawels evened her set at one apiece at the No. 6. The Tigers turned to Emiri Takanishi (2-3), who rallied from a slow start to win the match for UWA, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. 

Down 0-30 in the final game of the third set after a double fault, Takanishi won the next four points to take the match. 

The Tigers will continue the opening season road trip as they head west to Tyler, Texas for a weekend slate of matches at the University of Texas at Tyler. UWA will start the weekend against Midwestern State on Friday at 2:30 p.m.