SURPRISE, Ariz. – Midwestern State is making its 11th all-time appearance in the NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Championship final. For the third straight season, the Mustangs are one of the final 16 teams playing at the end of the season.

Midwestern State (19-6) is the No. 11 seed in the draw and faces No. 6-seed Augustana (S.D.) in the first round. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m. CDT on Tuesday at Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex. The Mustangs reached the semifinals each of the last two seasons. 

In 2024, Midwestern State defeated Queens (N.Y.) and Wingate before losing to top-seeded Barry (Fla.) in the semifinals, 4-0. Last year, the Mustangs eliminated Rockhurst (Mo.) and Wayne State (Mich.) before Nova Southeastern earned a 4-1 victory in the semifinals.

Camila Garcia is the only returning player that saw action in the three matches at the national tournament last year. In her freshman season, the Colombian was 2-1 at No. 2 doubles and won her only completed match at No. 5 singles at Sanlando Park Tennis Center in Altamonte Springs, Florida.

Alessia Dolce and Hattie Berend were also with the team last season but did not play matches during the national tournament. Anda Ghinga, now a graduate assistant on the coaching staff, played No. 3 singles and No. 1 doubles for the Mustangs last season.

Midwestern State is 96-40 in singles this season and boasts a 55-16 record in doubles, including a 24-1 record at No. 2 doubles. The Mustangs have taken the doubles point in 21 of 25 duals this season.

Selin Sepken, No. 8 in the ITA Collegiate Rankings for NCAA Division II women's singles, won her sixth straight match to clinch the South Central Regional title for Midwestern State, which travels to Surprise, Arizona, for the NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Championship. 

Sepken, the South Central Regional ITA Women's Senior Player of the Year, is 19-2 at No. 1 singles this season with a 6-2 record against ranked opponents. Fifteen of Sepken's wins have come in straight sets. 

Four times this season, Sepken has dropped the first set but rallied to win the match, and both of her losses have come in three-set battles.

The senior from Turkey transferred to MSU from Idaho and won 12 consecutive sets in completed matches since suffering a 6-4, 3-6, 3-6 loss to ninth-ranked Yona Bancarel of UT Tyler, which is seeded 10th in the national tournament and faces Azusa Pacific in the first round.

Sepken and Emilia Gyorgy have won 10 consecutive matches at No. 2 doubles for Midwestern State and are 19-6 this season.

Gyorgy, a freshman from Hungary, was named the LSC Women's Tennis Championship Most Valuable Player, and won 15 of her last 18 singles matches. Prior to a 3-6, 2-6 setback against No. 32-ranked Vasilis Kupriianova of Angelo State in the South Central Regional, Gyorgy defeated Natalia Gorzny of UT Tyler in the LSC Women's Tennis Championship, 6-2, 6-3, for her fourth consecutive win without dropping a set at No. 2 singles. 

Garcia is playing No. 3 singles for the Mustangs this season and enters the national tournament with a 14-match winning streak and a 20-2 record this spring. Garcia won her last eight completed matches without dropping a set.

Garcia and Jasmine Crain won seven of 10 doubles matches during the conference campaign and are 19-5 this season. 

Crain won seven of her last nine completed matches. The freshman from Edmond, Oklahoma, is 9-5 at No. 5 singles and is 12-10 overall this spring. 

Dolce and Berrend have posted a 14-2 record at No. 3 doubles for the Mustangs and have a five-match winning streak after defeating Danai Amangazhiyeva and Jade Bestagno of Angelo State in the South Central Regional, 6-3.

Dolce has an 11-match winning streak at No. 4 singles, winning 22 of 23 sets in completed matches. The sophomore from Italy rallied to defeat Carla Rodier in the LSC Women's Tennis Championship final, 0-6, 6-3, 6-3, and then bested Benedetta Raggiotti of Angelo State in the regional, 6-3, 6-3.

Berend was 6-3 singles during the conference campaign and is 8-7 at No. 6 singles this season. The Wichita Falls native appeared in two doubles matches last season, but did not play after Feb. 8 due to injury. She missed the first seven duals this season, including exhibitions, before returning to action against West Alabama on Feb. 27.

The Mustangs and Vikings are meeting for just the second time in the history of the programs. MSU suffered a 4-2 loss to Augustana in Kearney, Nebraska, when the teams clashed in February of 2023.

Augustana (21-2) won the NSIC Tournament championship for the 15th consecutive season and was the No. 1 seed in the Central Region. The Vikings extended their winning streak to 11 after defeating Missouri Western, 4-1, in the regional and is making its second consecutive appearance in the NCAA National Championships — its third overall. 

Last year, the Vikings fell to eighth-seeded Point Loma, 4-1, in the Round of 16. Mia Garcia secured the only point of the dual for Augustana with a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 1 singles.

Garcia is 14-5 this season and has a seven-match winning streak after clinching the Central Regional with a 7-5, 6-3 victory at No. 2 singles.

Garcia, a junior from Tulancingo, Mexico, was named the NSIC Player of the Year. Garcia and Simone Karaouza have an 11-6 record in doubles. 

Karaouza and Fernanda Sandoval are the other two Vikings that played in the national tournament last spring.

Karouza has an eight-match winning streak and is 15-3 this season. She improved to 5-0 at No. 5 singles with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Alejandra Ramirez of Missouri Western. 

Sandoval is 17-2 this season with a 16-match winning streak in singles. She boasts an 8-0 record at No. 2 singles and won eight of 10 matches at No. 3 singles. She won her only appearance at No. 4 singles against MSU Moorhead on March 28. The sophomore from Mexico is 17-6 in doubles this season, including a 12-6 mark at No. 1 doubles with Maria Fiacan.

Rhidaim Yang, a senior from Peru, is undefeated in 17 singles matches this season. Yang won six matches at No. 3 singles, seven matches at No. 4 singles and four matches at No. 5 singles. She defeated Claudia Pastor of Missouri Western, 7-5, 6-1 at No. 4 singles.

Yang is 18-4 in doubles alongside Smitte Bakyte, and the duo has a five-match winning streak, losing only four games during that span.

Bakyte won all nine of her singles matches in straight sets this season, but she has not played a singles match since defeating Elizabeth Dabiza of Minnesota State, 6-1, 6-1 on April 26.

Chelsea Seidewitz has a nine-match winning streak in singles and has not dropped a set since a 4-6, 2-6 loss Noemie Dadoun of Nova Southeastern on March 11. The senior from Germany is coming off a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Ella Gates of Missouri Western at No. 6 singles.

The Vikings are 97-18 in singles matches this season, but they have only faced three nationally ranked opponents in their 23 duals this spring. Augustana is 49-16 in doubles matches, and the Vikings won the doubles point 18 times this season, but they dropped the doubles point in their win over Missouri Western.

The winner of the Midwestern State / Augustana dual advances to the quarterfinals and will face the Nova Southeastern/Slippery Rock winner on Thursday night at 6 p.m. CDT. 

If the Mustangs reach the semifinals for a third straight year, they could possibly have a rematch with conference rival UT Tyler.
 
Mississippi College is the No. 1 seed in the 16-team draw and faces Adelphi in the first round. Grand Valley State is the No. 2 seed and is in Midwestern State's half of the draw. The Lakers meet Indiana (Pa.) in the first round with the winner facing either UT Tyler or Azusa Pacific.