WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- No. 18-ranked Midwestern State saw its season come to an end with a 4-3 loss to UT Permian Basin in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional. The dual match featured five sets decided by tiebreaks, including the third set at No. 3 singles, which clinched the victory for the Falcons.

Justin Van Amerongen of Midwestern State won two tiebreaks at No. 5 singles, and when he polished off a 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-6 (2) victory over Jonas Krahofer at MSU Tennis Center on Monday afternoon the dual match was knotted 3-3.

All eyes turned to Court 3, where Jonathan Vega of UTPB and Stephen Slocombe of MSU were headed to a decisive third-set tiebreak.

Vega jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the tiebreak but was unable to clinch the victory until his fourth match point. Slocombe, a junior from Barbados, battled through cramps in the latter stages of the match after splitting the first two sets, and Vega prevailed, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3).

Vega was dogpiled by his teammates, and the 30th-ranked Falcons began to celebrate their berth in the Round of 16. UTPB will travel to Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Florida, for a dual match on May 21. The national championship dual will be staged on May 25.

Slocombe's last three losses have all come in three-set matches and he finishes the season in singles with a 12-9 record for MSU.

Midwestern State closes out its season with a 14-10 overall record. The Mustangs finished with a 7-1 record in the Lone Star Conference and reached the final of the LSC Men's Tennis Championship.

UT Permian Basin earned its 20th win of the season and has only suffered four losses this season, including a 4-3 loss to the Mustangs in the regular season dual at Bush Tennis Center in Midland, Texas, on April 6. The Falcons were 7-1 in conference play but lost to UT Tyler, 4-3, in the semifinals of the LSC Men's Tennis Championship last month.

Midwestern State gained the early advantage by claiming the doubles point after Killian Guillou and Germano Setti defeated Vitaliy Horovoy and Vega at No. 2 doubles, 7-5.

Slocombe and Luis Diaz Argente, the No. 4-ranked pairing in NCAA Division II men's tennis, handed Krahofer and Grzegorz Rudnicki a 6-2 defeat at No. 1 doubles.

Guillou gave the Mustangs a 2-0 lead in the dual when he defeated Rudnicki, 6-4, 7-5, at No. 4 singles. Guillou was coming off back-to-back losses in the LSC Men's Tennis Championship. The sophomore from Paris, France, finished his campaign with an 8-12 record in singles.

Takumi Katsuda of UTPB avenged a 3-6, 1-6 loss to No. 52-ranked Germano Setti earlier this season with a 7-6 (6), 6-3 triumph over the sophomore from Brazil at No. 2 singles. Katsuda has won eight of his last 10 singles matches for the Falcons.

Setti had a four-match winning streak snapped and fell in straight sets for the first time since suffering a 2-6, 2-6 loss to No. 10-ranked Baptiste Mercier of Flagler on March 15. Setti finished the year with an 11-4 record at No. 2 singles and won 10 of his last 12 completed matches for the Mustangs.

Diaz, ranked No. 35 in the nation, faced No. 17-ranked Horovoy of UTPB at No. 1 singles for the second time this season. Once again the top-ranked Falcon won a three-set battle over the senior from Spain, 6-4, 6-7 (1), 6-2. Diaz finished the season with a 4-5 record against nationally ranked opponents in singles and was 12-9 overall for the Mustangs with nine wins in the No. 1 position.

Freshman Bruno Sanchez of Spain made his ninth appearance in singles for the Mustangs and jumped out to an early lead over Lucas Nitschke at the No. 6 spot. The freshman from Germany rebounded for a 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory for the Falcons. Nitschke was beaten by Charles Heffernan at No. 6 singles in the first meeting with MSU this season. Sanchez completed his first season at MSU with a 3-6 record in singles but went 10-5 in doubles alongside Vam Amerongen.

Van Amerongen, a junior from the Netherlands, closes the campaign with a three-match winning streak in singles and finished the season with a 5-2 record in singles overall.

Midwestern State was stymied in the Round of 32 for the fourth consecutive season and has not reached the Round of 16 since making the NCAA Division II quarterfinals in 2019.
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