TYLER, Texas – The dual match between Midwestern State and UT Tyler at Summers Tennis Center on Saturday afternoon came down to a battle at No. 1 singles between No. 7-ranked Selin Sepken of the Mustangs and No. 11-ranked Yona Bancarel of the Patriots.

Bancarel won the final three games of the third set and ended Sepken's eight-match winning streak with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory. No. 28-ranked Midwestern State fell to 12-6 for the season and 4-2 in conference play with a 4-3 loss at UT Tyler, which extended its winning streak to eight.

UT Tyler (14-5, 6-0) is only the third team this year to win the doubles point against the Mustangs.

Sepken and Emilia Gyorgy won the No. 2 doubles match, defeating Maria Antonio Ortega and Paula Castellanos, 6-3. It was the third straight win for the No. 11-ranked pairing of Midwestern State, which improved to 12-6 this season.

The win pulled Midwestern State even with the Patriots, who claimed the No. 1 doubles match as Bancarel and Natalia Gorzny handed Camila Garcia and Jasmine Crain a rare defeat with a 6-1 victory in less than a half hour. Crain and Garcia are 16-2 this season with a 4-2 record against conference opponents.

Hattie Berend and Alessia Dolce had a nine-match winning streak snapped and lost for the first time this spring at No. 3 doubles, falling 7-5 to the pairing of Carla Rodier and Hailey Zhang of the Patriots.

Gyorgy, Garcia and Dolce all won singles matches for the Mustangs.

Gyorgy won for the ninth time in 10 matches with her fourth straight victory at No. 2 singles. The freshman from Hungary defeated Gorzny, 6-1, 7-5. Gyorgy is 13-5 with a 5-1 record against conference foes.

Garcia extended her winning streak in singles to nine matches and remained undefeated in the LSC with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Antonio Ortega at No. 3 singles. Garcia is 15-2 in singles this spring.

Dolce won her fourth straight match and gave MSU a 3-2 advantage in the dual with a 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Rodier at No. 4 singles. Dolce improved to 4-2 in conference matches, and the sophomore from Italy is 10-6 overall in singles.

Claudia Di Leonardo put UT Tyler in position to win by taking the match with Berend at No. 6 singles, 7-6 (6), 6-1. Berend saw a three-match winning streak come to end and fell to 4-2 in the LSC. The junior from Wichita Falls is 6-5 at No. 6 singles this season.

Midwestern State makes a short trip to Lawton, Oklahoma, on Friday for a 1 p.m. dual match against Cameron at Streich-Henry Tennis Complex.

                                                                                                        -- MSUMustangs.com --