ADA, Okla. – The 14th-ranked Midwestern State men's tennis team opened the 2016 season Saturday afternoon with a 6-3 road win over No. 42 East Central at the Mayhue Courts.

Junior Chris Norrie propelled the Mustangs to victory with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Marc Lerch at No. 5 singles to clinch the match after East Central (0-2) had just claimed back-to-back wins on courts three and four to make it a 4-3 contest.

The Mustangs opened up the afternoon taking two of three doubles matches. Senior Zack Santagate and freshman Dillon Pineda started off the day with an 8-5 win at No. 3 doubles before the 20th-ranked duo of senior Kyle Davidson and junior Ramon Toyos recorded an 8-4 triumph at the top position.

Davidson, ranked 27th in the Oracle/ITA Division II rankings, was the first player to earn a win in singles with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over No. 36 Alex Fillat at No. 1.
No. 39 Toyos made it a 4-1 MSU lead after a 6-3, 6-2 win over Adria Abella on court two. The Tigers answered with a pair of three-set wins to cut their deficit to 4-3 before Norrie came up with the clincher at court five.

Pineda wrapped up the match for Midwestern with a 7-5, 6-0 win at No. 6 over Trevor Kipping for a final 6-3 score.

Midwestern State will take a month off before returning to the courts Thursday, Mar. 3 to host Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) for an 11 a.m. matchup at the MSU Tennis Center.


No. 14 Midwestern State 6, No. 42 East Central 3
Feb. 6, 2016 at Ada, Okla. (Mayhue Courts)

Singles Competition
1. No. 27 Kyle Davidson (MSU) def. No. 36 Alex Fillat (ECU) 6-4, 6-4
2. No. 39 Ramon Toyos (MSU) def. Adria Abella (ECU) 6-3, 6-2
3. Sergio Espias (ECU) def. Radu Popa (MSU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
4. Erik Eldagsen (ECU) def. Dylan Hall (MSU) 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-2
5. Chris Norrie (MSU) def. Marc Lerch (ECU) 6-1, 6-3
6. Dillon Pineda (MSU) def. Trevor Kipping (ECU) 7-5, 6-0

Doubles Competition
1. No. 20 Davidson/Toyos (MSU) def. Fillat/Albert Lapiedra (ECU) 8-4
2. Eldagsen/Abella (ECU) def. Popa/Norrie (MSU) 8-5
3. Zack Santagate/Pineda (MSU) def. Espias/Stefan Schodlbauer (ECU) 8-5
 
Match Notes:
Midwestern State 1-0; National Ranking #14
East Central 0-2; National Ranking #42
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,2,4,3,5,6)