OMAHA, Neb. – Fourth-seeded College of Saint Mary saw an outstanding tennis season come to an end on Thursday with a 4-3 loss to fifth-seeded Midland University in the quarterfinals of the Great Plains Athletic Conference Women's Tennis Tournament at Genesis Westroads.

"I said early in the season I'd be disappointed if we didn't reach the GPAC semifinals — and that's where I'm at,'' CSM Coach Mike Johnson said. "Disappointed. That said, there were some great performances, and this program has taken a big step forward from where we started.''

The match started well for the Flames, as they won two doubles matches to grab the point. At No. 1, Callista Uchil and Noel Moreno beat Ai Katsura and Graziela Dallagnol, 6-4. At No. 2, Yana Gupta and Abrianna Reynosa downed Andrea Vasquez and Lillie Johnston, 6-3.

At No. 3, Carolyna Truong and Iyaanah Pardiwalla were leading 5-4 when the match was halted because the doubles point had been secured.

CSM won at No. 1 singles, with Uchil handling Katsura 6-2, 6-1, and at No. 2 singles, with Moreno cruising past Vasquez 6-2, 6-0.

However, Midland took the other four matches to clinch the victory.

At No. 3, Dallagnol beat Pardiwalla 7-5, 6-2. At No. 4, Malena Hernandez took down Gupta 6-4, 6-0. At No. 5, Ana Larreal defeated Truong 3-6, 6-0, 6-1. And at No. 6, Johnston got past Darece Van Auken 6-3, 6-3.

"Strong doubles from our No. 1 and 2 teams gave us a great start,'' Johnson said. "Callista and Noel followed it up with decisive, controlled wins in singles. It was especially good to see Noel maintain her intensity through the second set and not let up. The rest of the lineup was a mix of not rising to the moment and, at times, getting outplayed.''

Midland lost to top-seeded Morningside University 4-0 later in the day in the semifinals, while second-seeded Concordia University got past third-seeded Doane University 4-0 in the other semifinal at Hanscom Indoor Tennis Center.

Morningside and Concordia will meet on Saturday for the bid to the NAIA national tournament in Mobile, Ala.

CSM finished 9-4 overall in duals and 4-3 in the GPAC, which was good for a tie for third, its highest finish since 2019. The Flames will lose seniors Truong and Van Auken.

"We'll graduate a couple players, bring in some new ones, and keep building,'' Johnson said. "I'm looking forward to what this group can do next year.''