NORMAL, Ill. - The Wichita State men's tennis team's season ended after falling to Southern Illinois 4-2 this morning in the MVC Championship semifinals at the Bloomington Tennis Center.

Southern Illinois (17-4, 2-1 MVC) took the doubles points with wins in the first and third flights. Alex Pozo/Piotr Baranski defeated Haru Inoue/Miroslav Herzan 7-5 in the top flight. Murkel Dellien/Marius Frosa answered with a 7-6 victory over Michal Kianicka/Daniel Martinez in the second flight. Wilder Pimentel/Param Pun secured the point with a close 7-6 win over Andrea Caligiana/Eddie Stoica in the third flight.

Wichita State (13-13, 1-2 MVC) took the brief lead with two wins to start singles play. Stoica topped Martinez 6-1, 6-2 in the fifth flight, ending the season with the second-most wins on the team with a record of 22-16. Dellien followed with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Pozo in the fourth flight. The freshman wraps up his spring season with a strong 17-6 record and ends on a six-match winning streak. The Salukis won the next three contests, including No. 102 Baranski defeating No. 100 Inoue 7-5, 6-3 in the top flight. Inoue's year ends with a 23-11 record, best on the team. The sophomore from Japan reached as high as No. 71 in the Oracle/ITA singles ranks this year, and went 11-6 in top-flight dual matches.

SIU, the No. 3 seed, advances to tomorrow's championship to face the winner of No. 1 Drake/No. 5 Illinois State.

Head coach Danny Bryan ends his first year with a .500 record, and reached a national ranking of No. 48 at one point in the season. The Shockers won last year's tournament for the 24th time in program history, most all-time in the Valley.

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Southern Illinois 4, Wichita State 2

Singles competition
1. No. 102 Piort Baranski (SIU) def. No. 100 Haru Inoue (WSU) 7-5, 6-3
2. Wilder Pimentel (SIU) vs. Marius Frosa (WSU) 6-2, 1-6, 1-5, unfinished
3. Michal Kianicka (SIU) def. Miroslav Herzan (WSU) 6-4, 7-6
4. Murkel Dellien (WSU) def. Alex Pozo (SIU) 6-2, 6-4
5. Eddie Stoica (WSU) def. Daniel Martinez (SIU) 6-1, 6-2
6. Param Pun (SIU) def. Andrea Caligiana (WSU) 6-1, 2-6, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Alex Pozo/Piotr Baranski (SIU) def. Haru Inoue/Miroslav Herzan (WSU) 7-5
2. Andrea Caligiana/Eddie Stoica (WSU) def. Michal Kianicka/Daniel Martinez (SIU) 7-6
3. Wilder Pimentel/Param Pun (SIU) def. Murkel Dellien/Marius Frosa (WSU) 7-6

Match Notes:
Wichita State 13-13 (1-2 MVC)
Southern Illinois 17-4 (2-1 MVC)
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (5,4,1,3,6)
MVC Team Tennis Championships Semifinal