ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. -- The most successful season in the history of Midwestern State women's tennis came to a close on Thursday morning with a 4-0 loss to six-time defending national champion Barry in the national semifinals at Salando Park.

The Mustangs reached the national semifinals for the first time in the history of the program with a 4-3 win over Wingate in the quarterfinals and a 5-0 triumph over Queens College in the round of 16.

Midwestern State finished the season with a 22-5 record and won the South Central Regional at MSU Tennis Center, defeating Dallas Baptist, 4-1, on May 10.

Viktoriia Dema, ranked No. 20 in the nation, clinched the dual-match victory for Barry with a 6-4, 6-1 win over 31st-ranked Anda Ghinga at No. 2 singles.

Ghinga suffered just her third loss of the season in singles, and the junior from Romania led the Mustangs with 23 wins this season. Ghinga was the Marie Morgan Award winner, recognized as the most outstanding female student-athlete at MSU. She was also All-Lone Star Conference in singles and doubles this season.

Dema and Dinara Alloiarova, the No. 34-ranked doubles team in NCAA Division II, clinched the first point of the dual with a 6-4 win over Ghinga and Jessica Binzari at No. 1 doubles. The Romanian duo is ranked No. 21 in the nation and finished the season with a 15-9 record for the Mustangs.

Clara Versier and Ailen Crespo gave the Buccaneers an early advantage in doubles with a 6-1 win over Hannah Yip and Sofia Giraldo at No. 2 doubles. Yip and Giraldo were playing together for just the third time this season. Versier and Crespo won their seventh consecutive completed match and improved to 9-2 for the campaign.

Alloiarova gave Barry a 2-0 lead in the dual match with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Giraldo at No. 4 singles, and just a minute later Angela Leweurs completed a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Skylar Minns at No. 5 singles.

The freshman Giraldo had a memorable postseason for the Mustangs. The Colombian clinched victories over Dallas Baptist and Wingate, propelling MSU to its deepest run ever in the national tournament. Giraldo finished the season with a 13-8 record in singles.

Minns wrapped up a noteworthy career at Midwestern State. The senior from Port Aransas, Texas, finished the season with a 15-8 record in singles. She won 54 singles matches in her four seasons for the Maroon & Gold. Minns had a combined record of 85-47 for her career, but she only played singles in her senior campaign.

No. 14-ranked Binzari won the first set against No. 38-ranked Alina Michalitsch, 6-2, but the match was unfinished. Binzari, a junior transfer from Coker, anchored No. 1 singles throughout the course of the season, and the LSC Newcomer of the Year finished the season with a 14-9 record, winning nine of her final 10 completed matches for the Mustangs.Binzari was also named the South Central Region Player to Watch.

Hannah Yip, ranked No. 41 in the nation, played an unfinished match at No. 3 singles and finished the season with a 13-match winning streak. The junior from Malaysia was 19-5 this year, including a 12-0 record in the No. 3 position, where Midwestern State was undefeated this season with 24 victories. Yip also had a 15-8 record in doubles. Yip was All-LSC in both singles and doubles this spring.

Sydney Williams played two unfinished matches against the eight-time national champions. Williams and Sarah Mazaraki were in a 5-5 deadlock with Nathalia Gasparin and Leweurs at No. 3 doubles, and Williams was battling No. 70-ranked Clara Versier at No. 6 singles when the Buccaneers clinched their 11th all-time berth in the national finals.

Williams enjoyed an 11-match winning streak this season and finished her junior campaign with a 12-3 record in singles. Williams finished the year with a 14-12 record in doubles and won eight of 10 matches alongside Mazaraki. The duo was 5-0 in conference play this season.

The women's tennis team became the fourth team in the history of Midwestern State athletics to play in NCAA national semifinals. The men's soccer team reached the Final Four in 2007 and 2010. Softball reached the national semifinals in 2011.

Top-seeded Barry improved to 23-4 for the season and faces second-seeded Nova Southeastern in the national final on Friday afternoon.

Nova Southeastern defeated North Georgia, 4-0, and will meet their Sunshine State Conference rival for the national title for the second straight year. Barry won the dual last year, 4-1, and has beaten the Sharks three times this spring.
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