Canberra ACT, Australia, 3 December 2015 | Tennis ACT

Canberra Velocity women’s team is set to take on Beenleigh Blaze in the semifinals of the North Conference in the Asia-Pacific Tennis League.

Velocity earned a semifinal spot by finishing top of Pool B, while the Blaze finished in second place of Pool A.

Canberra Velocity finished the pool rounds with a 5-1 record, with their only loss coming against the Western Sydney Warriors in round three. The team will take plenty of confidence into the finals, after winning 15 out of a possible 18 rubbers last weekend.

Alison Bai spearheads the team, looking to improve on her impressive 8-2 record this season. Ashley Keir is undefeated at the number two singles spot this year, while Tyra Calderwood and Kaitlin Staines are expected to line up at the three and four positions. Alexandra Nancarrow, who is still recovering from a hand injury, will likely form part of the doubles line up.

The Beenleigh Blaze are led by Alicia Smith who is currently ranked No.36 in Australia. Smith has been in great form during the ATL season, including a win over world No.332 Priscilla Hon. Aleksa Cveticanin is undefeated in singles play in her three outings for the Blaze, including defeating world No.611 Naiktha Bains. Gabriela McLaughlin, ranked No.67 in Australia, and Olivia Gadecki have also been solid for the Blaze in the pool rounds. Gadecki, 13, is ranked no.1 in Australia for her age.

The other semifinal sees the Brisbane Sharks take on Western Sydney Warriors.

The Sharks are undefeated and won and impressive 31 out of 36 rubbers in the pool matches.

The Sharks feature Hon, Bains, Lizette Cabrera and Ashling Sumner.

The Warriors who were in the same pool as Velocity, are led by Michaela Haet, who is currently ranked No.43 in Australia and No.108 in the ITF junior world rankings. They are supported by Alexandra Bozovic, Natalie Barbir, and Lucie Kriegsmannova.

The semifinals take place at the Sunshine Coast Regional Tennis Centre on Friday from 6pm (AEST). The winners progress to the North Conference finals on Sunday 6 December, with the losing semifinalists to play for third place.