UT Permian Basin men's tennis made its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance Sunday afternoon when the Falcons traveled to Wichita Falls, Texas, for a South Central Regional final against MSU Texas. The #20 Mustangs took the doubles point with a pair of doubles victories and won three of the first four completed singles matches for a 4-1 victory over the Falcons.

"I was extremely proud of how we came out with energy and toughness in our singles matches," said UT Permian Basin head coach Guilaume Gauthier. "We struggled early on in doubles, but came back and gave Midwestern State everything we had and left it all out on the court, and played them really well."

Fernando Siqueira came out strong in singles for UTPB, taking the win at #6 singles with a straight sets 6-4, 6-1 victory. Enrique Sanchez battled back in his #5 singles match after dropping the first set to a 5-5 tie in the second before it was left unfinished. Raul Stevens battled against the #2 player in the nation, Angel Palacios, in a 6-4, 6-4, loss at #1 singles, and Marcos Silva forces Alex Martine-Roca to win a seventh game in the first set of a 7-5, 5-2 unfinished match at #2 singles.

The final match of the year capped a season of successes for the Falcons in 2018-19. Along with their first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament, senior Raul Stevens was selected All-LSC First Team and repeated for the second straight year as the Lone Star Conference Academic Men's Tennis Player of the Year.

"I'm so proud of everything this team has been able to accomplish," said Gauthier. "This is a fantastic group of men that worked really hard both on and off the court, and was able to accomplish so much in both areas this year."