ROME, Ga. (5/6/26) – Senior Sarah Millard closed out a straight-set win at No. 6 singles to give Arkansas State women’s tennis a 4-1 victory over College of Charleston in a semifinal match at the UTR Sports National Invitational Tournament Wednesday at the Rome Tennis Center.

With the win, the Red Wolves improve to 15-9 on the season and advance to Thursday’s NIT Championship match where they will face North Alabama, who defeated top-seeded Kansas State in Wednesday’s other semifinal.

A-State, appearing in the postseason for the first time in program history, has 15 or more wins for the seventh time in program history, first since finishing the 2002 campaign at 16-8. A-State also had 15-plus wins in 2000 (17-4), 1996 (16-6), 1995 (16-1), 1993 (19-7) and 1992 (17-9).

College of Charleston (17-9) captured the doubles point to grab the early advantage. The pair of Millard and Anna Grigoreva fell 6-2 on court two and College of Charleston clinched the point with a 6-4 win over Hanmare McAslin and Meghna Arun Kumar on court three. Court one featuring Lilly Cvanciger and Carla Muro Castellvi was in a tiebreak at 6-6 (2-2) when the point was clinched.

“The courage and togetherness we showed on the court today made a big difference in our win,” said Grigoreva. “We competed with joy, trusted each other, and played with love for the team. This match showed how much we are growing together, and we are excited to bring that same energy into the final tomorrow.”

A-State evened the match with Arun Kumar’s 18th straight sets win of the season by way of a 6-4, 6-0 victory on court five. Grigoreva closed out a 6-2, 6-2 victory on court one to give the Red Wolves a 2-1 lead and Muro Castellvi put A-State ahead 3-1 with a 6-3, 6-3 win on court three. Millard clinched the match with a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 6 singles while Cvanciger led 7-5, 3-3 on court two and McAslin faced a 4-6, 1-5 deficit on court four.

The 2026 UTR Sports NIT championship match against North Alabama will be played Thursday at 8:00 a.m. (CT). Live coverage is available on Playsight (free after sign-up).