ARKANSAS CITY, Kansas – Midwestern State opens the 2026 campaign against Northwest Missouri State on Friday and will also face Cowley County Community College on its home courts the following day. First serve against Northwest Missouri State is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Friday, and the Mustangs return to the courts on Saturday for a 9 a.m. dual match with Cowley. 

The forecast for Friday is calling for sunny skies with a high of 64 degrees with northerly winds at 10 to 20 mph. On Saturday, partly cloudy skies with southeasterly winds at 10 to 20 mph are expected with temperatures climbing to 61 degrees after a low of 39 degrees. 

The Mustangs are under the direction of first-year head coach Luis Diaz, who was the ITA South Central Region Senior Player of the Year and LSC Senior of the Year in 2024 while playing at Midwestern State.

Midwestern State is No. 18 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association preseason rankings, led by Germano Setti, Bruno Sanchez, Juan David Duque and Matthew Earle, who transferred from Washburn.

Setti ranks No. 7 in the nation for singles and No. 5 in the South Central region. David Duque is No. 33 in singles rankings nationally, and No. 7 in region.

Duque and Sanchez are the top doubles team in the South Central region and No. 11 nationally. The pair of Earle and Setti are not far behind, standing No. 16 in nation, and No. 4 in the region.

Setti, a senior from Brazil, reached the quarterfinals and won two of his three singles matches at the prestigious ITA Cup in October. Setti teamed with Earle in doubles and reached the finals at the ITA DII Men's South Central Regional Championships and received an invitation to play in the 2025 ITA Cup.

Setti reached the singles quarterfinals at the ITA DII Men's South Central Regional Championships.

Sanchez and Duque outlasted Earle and Setti in the doubles' final at the ITA DII Men's South Central Regional Championships. Duque and Sanchez were the No. 7 seed in the 32-team draw and defeated three consecutive seeded pairings on their way to an automatic berth in the ITA Cup.

Duque is a senior from Colombia and begins his fourth season with the Mustangs, while Sanchez begins his junior season at Midwestern State.

Sanchez, who is from Spain, played 21 singles matches and finished the dual-match season with a 12-9 record last spring.

Midwestern State finished last season with a 15-7 overall record during the dual-match season and was 5-3 in conference play. The Mustangs, who were 7-1 in duals at MSU Tennis Center, reached the Lone Star Conference Championship final and qualified for the NCAA Division II South Central Regional.

Northwest Missouri State was 12-9 last season and 7-2 against MIAA/GAC foes. Bernardo Henriques is ranked No. 7 in the central region. Pavlo Vysotin is ranked No. 10 in the central region. Northwest returns first-team all-MIAA selection Dominik Wijntjes and honorable mention all-MIAA pick Antonin Leborne.

Cowley was swept by No. 8-ranked Washburn in its season opener, but the Tigers are coming off a a fifth-place finish at last year's national championships.

Sophomores Guilherme Coelho and Dan Hosono are the only two players returning from last year's squad. Hosono was the 2025 regional champion at No. 4 singles and advanced to the semifinals of the national championships at No. 4 singles, while Coelho is expected to make a jump after playing as a freshman.

Midwestern State will be home on Feb. 11 to face Seward County Community College at 2 p.m.