SAINT LEO, Fla. – Behind a 5-1 upset win, the No. 5 Saint Leo University women's tennis team upended No. 4 Nova Southeastern to advance to the Sunshine State Conference Women's Tennis Championship match. 

The No. 3-seeded Lions outdueled the No. 2-seeded Sharks to improve to 18-4 on the season and avenge its earlier season loss.  NSU falls to 18-2 on the season after suffering just its second loss of the year.

Saint Leo tandem of Pauline Helgesson and Marine Beugre-Guyot began doubles with a quick 8-1 victory on the third court over Linda Kornienko and Iryna Serdyuk.  Sharks duo Alex Kaeser and Alexandra Johansson bested Paula Montoya and Gabrielle Paul 8-5 to cause a 1-1 tie on the contest. 

The No. 8 ranked team-up of Isabella Robbiani and Maria Benkirane proved to be the deciding factor in doubles play, as the twosome battled Petra Jurova and Irina Constantinide to a 9-7 victory to give the Lions a 2-1 advantage heading into singles play.

Sophomore Paul earned redemption in singles play, defeating Charlotte Cote behind a pair of convincing 6-1 and 6-0 set scores as the Lions jumped to a 3-1 lead over the No. 4 team in the nation.

Moments later, fellow sophomore Beugre-Guyot dealt Johansson a 6-3 and 6-0 straight-set defeat to push the Lions a match win away from advancing to the SSC finals. 

Junior Helgesson ended the match with a 6-1, 6-0 rout of Bianca Roberts to clinch the 5-1 victory for the Green and Gold.

Saint Leo will play in the SSC Women's Tennis Championship match, Saturday, April 25 at 9 a.m. against the top-seeded Barry University at the Saint Leo Tennis Courts.  Live stats as well as a live video webcast will be made available through www.saintleolions.com.

For more information on the Saint Leo women's tennis program, visit SaintLeoLions.com.  Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.