EAST LANSING, Mich. - With two wins today at the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women's Tennis Tournament, Michigan Tech has advanced to the championship match for the first time in school history. The No. 3-seeded Huskies defeated No. 6 seed Ferris State by a 5-2 score in the opening round before upsetting No. 2 seed Grand Valley State 5-4 in the second round. Tech will now get a chance to knock off perennial power Northwood in tomorrow's title match.

"I was really happy with our play today," said Mike Axford, who is the program's all-time winningest coach. "Winning the GLIAC Tournament has been one of our goals, and we played two solid matches to give ourselves a chance tomorrow."

In the first round, Michigan Tech used the momentum from a big 9-8 (8-6) victory at No. 1 doubles to carry it through. Nathalia Rondelli and Ploy Suthijindawong led 7-2 in their pro set but needed a tiebreaker to eke out the win and give the Huskies a 2-1 lead following doubles.

Tech then wrapped up the team victory with wins at Nos. 1, 2 and 3 singles. No. 1 singles player Victoria Zhilkina needed a first-set tiebreaker (7-4) before cruising past Amy Ingle in the second set 6-2. Suthijindawong and Rondelli were both straight set winners as well, at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively.

Michigan Tech's 5-4 win vs. Grand Valley State avenged a 6-3, early-season road loss to the Lakers. The Huskies' formula for team winning held true once again as they won both No. 1 and No. 2 doubles and each of the top three singles flights.

Both doubles wins were tight. The Rondelli/Suthijindawong duo posted an 8-6 score over GVSU's Chelsea Johnston and Darylann Trout. Zhilkina and partner Asel Otunchieva also gained an 8-6 decision.

In singles, Suthijindawong remained perfect on the year at 10-0 at No. 2 with a 6-4, 6-1 score. GVSU then took a 4-3 team lead with wins at Nos. 4, 5 and 6 singles. Zhilkina evened the team score with a 6-3, 6-1 decision at No. 1. Rondelli closed out the semifinal triumph with a 6-3, 7-5 score at No. 3.

"Doubles has been important for us all year, and it was again today," said Axford. "Our top three singles players have a lot of expectations on them, too, but they went out and got the job done.

"We're excited about the chance to play Northwood tomorrow. We need to go out and play our match, and doubles will probably tell the tale."

Michigan Tech has won eight straight matches to improve its record to 9-2. The Huskies will battle Northwood (10-0) for the GLIAC Tournament title tomorrow at 10 a.m.