For the second day in a row, the No. 6 seeded Sam Houston women's tennis team left everything on the court in a Southland Conference championships dual match thriller in Beaumont.

Friday, the Bearkats upset No. 3 seed Lamar 4-3 in the tournament first round. Saturday in the semifinals, Sam Houston was on the brink of another upset against No. 2 seed A&M-Corpus Christi but could not close out the match.

The Islanders won 4-2 to advance to the Southland women's finals against No. 4 seed Northwestern State. The Demons defeated No. 1 seed and regular season champion Southeastern Louisiana in the other semifinal.

Due to the threat of rain, the two teams played singles first instead of doubles.

Tayna Postnikova gave Sam Houston a 1-0 lead with a 6-4 6-0 victory over Doris Kuselj. Stefania Nicolae, Sandra Burges and Celia Rodriguez all won in straight sets in the No. 3, 4 and 5 singles to put A&M-Corpus Christi up 3-1.

Nadia Dudyanskaya kept the Kats alive with a 7-6 6-0 victory over Mia Matuszak at No. 6 singles.

Sheridan Currie was Sam Houston's last hope to force doubles play. Currie lost the first set  at No. 2 singles 6-4 to Maider Martin. Currie bounced back to win the second set 6-4 and was up 4-3 in the third.

After a nearly 20-minute ninth game of the third set, Martin finally took a 5-4 lead. She held on to win the No. 2 singles and the match.

 A victory would have put Sam Houston in its first Southland Conference tournament finals. The Bearkats have reached the semifinals four times.

“The past two days, our young women showed what they were made of,” Sam Houston head coach Jim Giachino said. “They fought for every point. It was just a great effort. Congratulations to A&M-Corpus Christi for their gutty performance as well."

Sam Houston ends the 2013 season with a 9-12 overall record. A&M-Corpus Christi upped their season mark to 17-3.

TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI def. SAM HOUSTON STATE 4-2
Beaumont Municipal Tennis Center

DOUBLES
NOT PLAYED

SINGLES
No. 1 - Tatyana Postnikova (SHSU) def. Doris Kuselj (TAMUCC) 6-4, 6-0
No. 2 - Maider Martin (TAMUCC) def. Sheridan Currie (SHSU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
No. 3 - Stefania Nicolae (TAMUCC) def. Imke Jagau (SHSU) 6-1, 6-3
No. 4 - Sandra Burges (TAMUCC) def. Natalie Petaia (SHSU) 6-2, 6-4
No. 5 - Celia Delgado Rodriguez (TAMUCC) def. Maddie Mortimore (SHSU) 6-2, 6-3
No. 6 - Nadia Dubyanskaya (SHSU) def. Mia Matuszak (TAMUCC) 7-6, 6-0