SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Midwestern State women's doubles team of Rozike van Rensburg and Kendra Casey reached the semifinals of the USTA/ITA South Central Regional Championships to lead the MSU contingent in the tournament.
 
After advancing to the quarterfinals late Friday with a 7-5, 4-6, 10-5 win over eighth-seeded Houda Bellamine and Ivanka Belejova of Northeastern State in the second round, van Rensburg and Casey once again picked up the split sets win to advance.
 
Facing Incarnate Word's Ivana Katavc and Maggae Doney, van Rensburg and Casey dropped the first set 7-5, but came back to win the second set in a tiebreaker 7-6.  The MSU duo battled to win the 10-point match tiebreaker 10-7 to advance to the semifinals.
 
But their run would end there.  Casey and van Rensburg met Hanny Kelley and Micah Hermsdorf of Abilene Christian.  The ACU duo claimed the opening set 6-2, then fought off the MSU team's challenge in the deciding set in a tiebreaker 7-6.
 
On the men's side both remaining singles players fell in the round of 16.  Seventh-seeded Mario Urban dropped a 6-4, 6-4 decision to  Jorge Margiotta of Southwest Baptist and Rory deBoer fell to Cameron's Nicolai Ferrigno in split sets 6-2, 4-6, 10-5.
 
MSU advanced a men's doubles team to the quarterfinals.  Late Friday Luke Joyce and Colby Meeks beat Julian Caminos and Victor Blasco of East Central 6-3, 6-2.  However, the pair fell in the quarterfinal to fourth-seeded Thomas Peixoto and Duje Janjic of Cameron 7-6, 6-3.
 
In the men's B-draw, Meeks was a semifinalist.
 
He first dispatched Arkansas-Fort Smith's Seth Laster 6-1, 6-2 in the second round, then outlasted Ouachita Baptist's James Ingrahm 6-1, 5-7, 11-9 in the quarterfinals.
 
But in the B-draw semis, Cameron Terrell of Ouchita Baptist tripped up Meeds 7-5, 6-4.
 
Both the men and women continue their fall individual tournament play next weekend in the Collin County tournament in Plano.