GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The Western Michigan women's tennis team opened play in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Team Indoor Championships with a 4-3 victory over No. 56 South Alabama on Saturday at Linder Stadium at the Ring Tennis Complex on the campus of the University of Florida.

The No. 55 Broncos (4-1) won their fourth match in a row and advance to the round of 32 against regional host Florida, the No. 7 team in the country. The Gators knocked off No. 70 Oklahoma State, 4-0, in the morning match on Saturday.

The Broncos opened in doubles with a comeback victory at No. 2 as senior Ashley Moccia and freshman Jenny Nalepa overcame a 4-1 deficit to win 8-6. Juniors Emily Dudzik and Yumi Matsuto were in a dog fight at No. 1, but emerged victorious in a tiebreaker, 9-8 (3), to give the Broncos the early advantage, 1-0. That match was pivotal as sophomore Amanda Moccia and senior Kerstin Pahl were trailing, 6-7, at No. 3 when action was halted.

Pahl quickly put the Broncos up 2-0 as she didn't drop a game in a dominating 6-0, 6-0 victory over Sylvanie Spangenberg at No. 1 singles. The win was the 195th of her career, moving her into a tie for fourth in WMU history in career wins.

The Jaguars (1-1) struck back with a win at No. 6, but Amanda Moccia won 6-1, 6-4 over Marie Boura at No. 5 to give the Broncos a 3-1 advantage.

South Alabama wouldn't go away and won matches at No. 3 and No. 2 to even the match at three with only one match remaining on the court.

Ashley Moccia dropped the first set in an epic tiebreaker, 13-11, but then came back to knock off Katie Welch 6-7 (11), 6-3, 6-3 to win the match for the Brown & Gold.