Mustangs dream of deeper national run next season

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — A couple days after making history, the Morningside men's tennis team talked about raising the bar for the 2026-27 fall and spring season.

The Mustangs recently won their first national tournament duals in program and Great Plains Athletic Conference history, after defeating Bethel (Kan.) and Xavier (La.) in the first and second rounds.

Morningside flipped the script from their March matchup over the Threshers, taking an early lead by clinching the doubles point with wins from Marcos Menendez Hervella and Alexis Diaz (7-5) and Mathys Arnold and Jesse Gerth (6-4).

In singles, Morningside secured key victories at the Nos. 1, 2 and 5 matches. Menendez Hervella rallied for a 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 win, while Diaz avenged his previous loss with a 6-4, 6-4 result.

Freshman Gabriel Whiston, who won the March match, delivered again with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 victory, sealing Morningside's spot in the second round. Mustangs head coach Alex Struck said it was fitting for Whiston to earn the history-making point.

"Gabe's been kind of a clinch man this year and in a few matches, had a couple walk-offs against some of our bigger wins," Struck said. "He's made for that moment. He's had the reps and had some success in those situations. And so it really felt good going into the third set and the energy was there. And to see him win another one, I think, was not a surprise to anybody, just based on what he's done this year."

Then, against the Gold Rush, Santiago Minetti delivered a 6-1 walkoff win to extend Morningside's season before Keiser defeated the Mustangs in the national quarterfinals.

A year after coming close to reaching that pinnacle, Struck said the excitement of meeting their top goal was well worth the effort and wait.

"I think it was just a lot of excitement," Struck said. "It's hard to put into words. Just the hugs, the tears, all the work, everything we've been talking about for a couple years now really comes to fruition."

Morningside made it to nationals last season, but dropped a 4-3 dual last year in the first round against Middle Georgia. Right when the season began, the expectations were clear. They won the GPAC regular-season and tournament banners, and then, of course, claiming their first dual on the national stage.

The Mustangs went 23-5, and took victories in 12 straight duals.

While it may be easy to reflect on the memories made this past spring, the excitement of doing it again — and going further — fuels the Mustang men.

Other programs noticed how the Mustangs performed at the national level. According to Struck, he's heard from programs the Mustangs have never played that are interested in competing against Morningside next season.

"Our perspective is to not be content, it's a balance," Struck said. "You got to enjoy it and really celebrate it and realize how historic it was, but also realize we can keep doing this and not be content just with one and go back to what it has been. It's like we want to get back to this level and keep competing and have chances to get to the semifinals or advance further than that."