SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The No. 41-ranked Northwest Missouri State University men's tennis team dropped a 4-3 decision to the Southern Arkansas Muleriders in the opening round of the 2025 MIAA Tournament held at the Cooper Outdoor Courts.
 
Southern Arkansas improved its season mark to 12-9, while Northwest dipped to 12-8 on the year. SAU advanced to the MIAA semifinals to take on Ouachita Baptist, who defeated Emporia State in a 4-3 decision earlier in the day.
 
The doubles point came down to a nip-and-tuck affair at No. 3 doubles. Northwest's duo of Vini Rodrigues and Bernardo Henriques escaped with a 7-6 (8-6) tiebreaker triumph over SAU's Frode Neumann and William Van Pongracz.
 
Antonin Leborne posted a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 5 singles over SAU's Uwe Diehl. Leborne improved his season mark to 16-6 overall and 16-4 in dual play. The win snapped a two-match losing skid for Leborne.
 
Vini Rodrigues tied the dual at 3-3 when he finished a rain-interrupted match with a 6-1, 6-1 win over SAU's Lucas Ibanez.
 
The dual came down to a third-set result at No. 2 singles between Northwest's Luc Mascitti and SAU's Frode Neumann. Mascitti claimed the opening set, 6-4, only to have Neumann answer back with a 6-4 victory in the second set. Neumann took control of the third and did not look back en route to a 6-0 win to claim the 4-3 dual win for the Muleriders.