SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Midwestern State's historic run through the NCAA Division II Championships came to an end in the quarterfinal round with a narrow 5-4 loss to Southwest Baptist (Mo.) Thursday afternoon at the Surprise Racquet and Tennis Complex.
 
The Mustangs close the season with an 18-7 record advancing to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history.
 
Southwest Baptist (25-2) moves on to face top-ranked Armstrong State (Ga.), which improved to 31-0 with a 5-0 victory over Lynn (Fla.) Thursday afternoon at the Surprise Racquet and Tennis Complex in the national semifinals. First serve is set for Friday at 3 p.m. (Central Time).
 
Midwestern drew first blood against SBU as junior Maddie Schorlemmer and sophomore Paige Boykin took an 8-0 win over Beatrix Federer and Zorana Jovanic at No. 3 doubles.
 
The Bearcats recovered to take a 2-1 lead into singles play by taking matching 8-5 victories at the top two doubles positions.
 
MSU sophomore Courtney Anderson evened the match at 2-all with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Lani Tuemmers at No. 4 singles, but Southwest Baptist delivered at the top two singles' spots to put the Mustangs on the brink.
 
No. 14-ranked Fanni Varga beat junior Kayla Casey 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1, while 40th-ranked Christina Zentai claimed a 6-2, 6-0 victory over senior Taylor Coffman at No. 2.
 
The Mustangs battled back to even the match at 4-4 producing a pair of straight-set wins at the bottom of the order.
 
Boykin blitzed Federer 6-0, 6-1 at the No. 5 position, while freshman Carrie Casey blanked Jovanic 6-0, 6-0 at No. 6.
 
Southwest Baptist notched the clincher by taking the final match on the court as Josefina Zehnder outlasted Schorlemmer 6-3, 6-3.
 
The Bearcats defeated Midwestern State by the same 5-4 margin in each of the last two regular season meetings in 2014 and 2015.