Paula Zabala was named the SBC Championship's Most Outstanding Player after recording a 3-0 doubles record and a 2-0 singles mark over the weekend competition.

Lady Panthers win first SBC tennis crown with 4-1 upset over No. 26 South Alabama

FIU won its first ever Sun Belt Conference Women's Tennis Championship with a 4-1 upset victory over No. 26-ranked South Alabama (18-5) on April 24. The championship victory gave the Golden Panthers an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.

FIU's Paula Zabala was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after recording a 3-0 doubles record and a 2-0 singles mark over the weekend competition.

After finishing as runners up three times (2000, '01 and '02) and placing third in each of the last two tournaments, the No. 3-seeded Golden Panthers had to beat defending champion and the No. 2-seed Denver on Saturday and then take on tournament host USA, who had won 12 of the last 13 championship titles.

"It feels great because we had come so close in the past," said FIU head coach Ronni Bernstein after the match.

FIU (18-5) started strong by winning the doubles point with two-of-three match victories. At No. 1, Zabala and partner Nikkita Fountain dominated Ana Rupic and Klara Jarova, 8-0. After USA's Dominika Nemcovicova and Dijana Stanic evened the match with an 8-4 win over Courtney Jonson and Bruna Discordia at No. 3, the Golden Panthers claimed the doubles point when Egle Petrauskaite and Desanka Jovanovic outlasted Marie Zivcicova and Katarina Palenikova at No. 2, 8-6.

FIU picked up its second point when the No. 43-ranked Zabala made quick work of Rupic in No. 1 singles, 6-1, 6-1. The win was the 17th of the spring for the Miami resident, tying her for the team lead in dual singles victories.

Shilla D'Armas at No. 4 and Petrauskaite at No. 2 singles collected the deciding points. D'Armas snuck by Palenikova, 7-5, in the first set before gaining control with a 6-1 decision in the second. Petrauskaite's match-clinching victory was just the opposite. She dominated early and then had to hang on against Andrea Kurekova, 6-2, 7-6.

South Alabama's lone point of the day came at No. 6 singles where Dijana Stanic beat Marijana Cutuk, 6-0, 6-4.

For FIU, it will be the first trip back into the postseason in three years. The Golden Panthers last appeared in NCAA Tournament play in 2002 when they claimed an at-large invitation.

FIU must now wait until Wednesday, May 4 at 4:30 p.m. (ET) on ESPNews to find out who its first-round NCAA opponent will be in the tournament that will be played May 13-15.

Singles
1.) #43 Paula Zabala (FIU) def. Ana Rupic (USA), 6-1, 6-1
2.) Egle Petrauskaite (FIU) def. Andrea Kurekova (USA), 6-2, 7-6
3.) Nikkita Fountain (FIU) vs. Marie Zivcicova (USA), 2-6, 6-2, DNF
4.) Shilla D'Armas (FIU) def. Katarina Palenikova (USA), 7-5, 6-1
5.) Desanka Jovanovic (FIU) vs. Dominika Nemcovicova (USA), DNF
6.) Dijana Stanic (USA) def. Marijana Cutuk (FIU), 6-0, 6-4

Doubles
1.) Zabala/Fountain (FIU) def. Rupic/Klara Jarova (USA), 8-0
2.) Petrauskaite/Jovanovic (FIU) def. Zivcicova/Palenikova (USA), 8-6
3.) Nemcovicova/Stanic (USA) def. Courtney Jonson/Bruna Discordia (FIU), 8-4

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