Heart Tennis Teams Compete at NAIA National Championships 

Three Heart of America Athletic Conference tennis programs competed on the national stage this week at the 2026 NAIA Men's and Women's Tennis National Championships in Mobile, Ala., as Missouri Baptist University, William Woods University men's tennis, and William Woods University women's tennis represented the conference in postseason play. 

Men's Tennis 

Missouri Baptist 

No. 12 seed Missouri Baptist University earned the program's first-ever NAIA Men's Tennis National Championship match victory with a 4-1 opening-round win over Marian (Ind.). 

The Spartans were led by Luca Da Silva Ebenriter and Sebastian Junghanns, who both secured doubles and singles victories in the win. The nationally ranked doubles pair earned a 6-3 victory before Junghanns clinched the match at No. 3 singles with a 6-4, 6-3 decision. 

Missouri Baptist advanced to the second round before falling 4-1 to No. 5 seed Southeastern University. The Spartans concluded the season with a 21-7 overall record. 

William Woods 

No. 16 seed William Woods University battled No. 17 seed St. Thomas University in a tightly contested opening-round matchup before falling 4-3. 

The Owls pushed the match to the final point before St. Thomas clinched at No. 5 singles. William Woods finished the 2026 campaign with a 14-7 overall record.

 Women's Tennis 

William Woods

No. 23 seed William Woods University women's tennis competed in the opening round of the 2026 NAIA Women's Tennis National Championship, falling 4-0 to No. 10 seed Marian University. 

Marian secured the match-clinching point at No. 5 singles as the Owls wrapped up the season with a 10-11 overall record.