Tarleton State Tennis eyes conference title at the WAC Championship this weekend

ARLINGTON, Texas - Tarleton State Tennis begins its quest for its first Division I conference title at the WAC Championship at the Arlington Tennis Center this weekend.

The No. 2 seeded Texans will face No. 3 seed UT Arlington in the WAC Championship semifinals on Friday at 11 a.m., with the winner taking on either No. 4 seed Abilene Christian or top seeded Grand Canyon in Saturday's final at 11 a.m. The Texans, who received a first-round bye for the conference tournament, seek the automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament. Admission to all WAC Tournament matches at the Arlington Tennis Center are free.

After finishing the previous two years as the runner-up in the WAC Tournament, Tarleton State searches for its first-ever Division I conference championship. The Texans are 2-2 against the WAC semifinalists in 2025, defeating GCU and UTA earlier this season.

Tarleton State finished the regular season with a 13-7 record, including an undefeated 7-0 mark at home. The Texans matched the longest win streak in the Division I Era with seven victories in a row earlier in 2025, collecting five WAC Singles Player of the Week awards and seven WAC Doubles Team of the Week honors this season.

Freshman has led the Texans in singles wins in 2025, posting a 14-4 record in her first collegiate season. Castano has won three out of her last four singles matches and collected the deciding point against GCU to help the Texans clinch the match on April 4. The Dominican Republic native also received the university's Freshman Leadership Award on Wednesday.

Juniors and have also given the Texans a lift in 2025, posting double-digit singles wins. Mukhutdinova has posted a 13-5 singles record while Morales enters the WAC Tournament with an 11-5 singles mark. Morales enters Arlington having won nine of her last 10 singles matches. Mukhutdionva has tallied six bagels (6-0 sets) in 2025.

Doubles has been where the Texans have dominated in 2025, winning over 70% of their doubles matches with a 37-13 record. Seniors (12) and (10) have each posted double-digit doubles wins in 2025. Burger, a four-time WAC Doubles Player of the Week winner in 2025, has collected 25 career doubles wins as a Texan. Lorca, a three-time WAC Doubles Player of the Week winner, captured the first-ever WAC Tennis Invitational singles title back in October.

Morales (11), Castano (12) along with juniors (11) and (10) all have at least 10 doubles wins under their belt in 2025. Persson has earned five WAC Doubles Player of the Week honors this season while Morales has captured two from the conference.

After falling short at UTA on March 30, the Texans got their revenge against the Lady Mavs in Stephenville. Led by Morales and Mukhutdinova, Tarleton State defeated UTA 4-2 on its Senior Day April 10. Morales helped the Texans clinch the doubles point with Lorca after a 7-6 win on Court 1 before defeating Mialy Ranaivo 6-3, 6-2 victory on Court 3. Mukhutdinova came up with her 13th singles win of the season on Court 5 after collecting the doubles victory with Burger.

With the match tied 3-3 on April 4 against GCU, Castano won 12 of the final 14 games on Court 5 to help the Texans knock off the two-time defending WAC champions 4-3. ACU defeated the Texans in the regular season finale on April 12, 4-1.

Fans unable to make Friday's match in person can watch the action on WAC International. Live scoring will be provided through Stat Broadcast.