Midwestern State 5, Abilene Christian 3 May 5, 2006 

WICHITA FALLS, Texas - The Midwestern State University Mustangs rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Abilene Christian University Wildcats 5-3 and claim a Central Regional berth in the round of 16 at NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Championships Friday afternoon.

MSU (17-4) lost at two and three doubles to start the match before junior Brett Emerson stepped up.

Emerson and doubles teammate Zac Dillard battled ACU's Casper Steenkamp and George Carstens to a 9-7 victory to set the score at ACU 2-1 after the doubles competition.

Then Emerson started a Mustang steamroller in singles.

Emerson, ranked 26th nationally in singles, blasted the senior Steenkamp, who was 30th nationally, by a 6-0, 6-1 score. The contest took less than an hour to play.

The echo of the match reverberated throughout the rest of the singles action.

MSU freshman Stefan McKinney survived a close first set to give MSU a 3-2 team lead with a 7-5, 6-1 win over ACU senior Jason Ray.

Abilene Christian evened the match with Juan Nunez beating MSU senior Gene Ligeon 6-4, 7-5. However, that tie didn't last long.

Midwestern junior Charles van Swelm and ACU freshman Ryan Hudson split sets with van Swelm taking the first 6-4 and Hudson the next 6-0.

Hudson grabbed the first two games in the third set before van Swelm came roaring back to take the number three singles with a 6-3 win.

It was a senior who gave MSU the match victory.

Jared King was up 6-4, 5-3 against ACU junior Bryce Hicks only to see Hicks fight off six match points and tie King 6-6 in the second set.

But the Wichita Falls/Rider senior in his last match at home blasted Hicks in the tie breaker 7-2 to give MSU a ticket to Kansas City.

It was the rubber match for the 20th ranked Mustangs over the number 22 Wildcats. ACU claimed a regular season 5-4 win in New Braunfels in March. But MSU won the Lone Star Conference championship at Hamilton Park two weeks ago. MSU also defeated ACU in the regional final last season.

Midwestern State advances to face Concordia (N.Y.) in the round of 16 at the Plaza Tennis Center in Kansas City on May 10. Concordia defeated Assumption (Mass.) 5-1 to advance from the East region.

NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Championships
Central Regional Championship
May 5, 2006 at Midwestern State University Tennis Center
Wichita Falls, Texas

Singles competition:
1. Brett Emerson (MSU) def. Casper Steenkamp (ACU) 6-0, 6-1
2. Stefan McKinney (MSU) def. Jason Ray (ACU) 7-5, 6-1
3. Charles van Swelm (MSU) def. Ryan Hudson (ACU) 6-4, 0-6, 6-3
4. Juan Nunez (ACU) def. Gene Ligeon (MSU) 6-4, 7-5
5. Zac Dillard (MSU) vs. George Carstens (ACU) 6-3, 2-6, 4-4, unfinished
6. Jared King (MSU) def. Bryce Hicks (ACU) 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)

Doubles competition:
1. Brett Emerson/Zac Dillard (MSU) def. Casper Steenkamp/George Carstens (ACU) 9-7
2. Kevin Beedy/Juan Nunez (ACU) def. Charles van Swelm/Gene Ligeon (MSU) 8-3
3. Ryan Hudson/Evan Puglia (ACU) def. Jared King/Stefan McKinney (MSU) 8-3

Match Notes:
Abilene Christian 18-7; National ranking #22; Regional ranking #3
Midwestern State 17-4; National ranking #20; Regional ranking #2
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (,1,2,4)
Midwestern State advances to NCAA National Tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
Official: Sara Lammerts T-3:21 A-115

-- Courtesy Midwestern State University