Morningside suffered a 5-0 loss against ninth-ranked Middle Georgia State in the first round of the NAIA Women’s Tennis National Championship.

Ninth-ranked Middle Georgia State defeated Morningside 5-0 in Thursday’s first round action of the 2016 NAIA Women’s Tennis National Championship in Mobile, Ala.

The Mustangs, who made their second national tournament appearance in school history, finished the season with a record of 13-3. Morningside, which rolled through the GPAC with an 8-0 record to win the league title, had an 11-dual winning streak end with the loss against the Knights.

Middle Georgia State opened a 3-0 lead after the completion of the three doubles matches and then clinched the victory with triumphs at No. 2 and 6 singles.

Aileen Fuchs, the GPAC Tennis Player of the Year, won the first set 6-4 in her No. 1 flight singles match against Anastaslia Vasileva in a matchup of nationally ranked players. Vasileva is ranked sixth in the latest Oracle/Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, while Fuchs is ranked 35th.

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