EDMOND, Okla. – #12 Southern Arkansas battled until the end on Thursday morning from inside the Edmond Tennis Center. The Muleriders were edged by #17 Ouachita 4-1 behind a close defeat in doubles play and two tight three-set losses in singles play as the latter claimed the MIAA-GAC Tournament Championship and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA postseason.
 
Stuart Rehfuss and Sofiane Bah won 6-3 over Francisco Oliveira and Santiago Kearney at No. 2 doubles and at No. 1 the nationally-ranked duo of Sander Jans and Marko Nikoliuk nearly earned SAU the match's first point before falling 7-6 (2) to Phil Exner and Alex Blanchar.
 
Ole Valkyser claimed a win at No. 4 with a 6-4, 7-5 decision against Blanchar. At singles lines No. 2 and 3, Ouachita needed three sets to put away the Muleriders including a tiebreaker at No. 3 that saw Fernando Docters top Marko Nikoliuk 6-2, 7-5, 7-6 (2) to clinch the match.
 
Southern Arkansas (19-5) entered the MIAA-GAC Tournament as the No. 2 team in the Central Region rankings. SAU will learn of its regional standing and opponent on Tuesday, May 3rd at 8 PM ET on NCAA.com. A link to the show will be on the front page of www.NCAA.com.