No. 12 Midwestern State vs. No. 29 Southwest Baptist
Wednesday, Mar. 16, 2016 | 1 p.m.
MSU Tennis Center | Wichita Falls, Texas

No. 12 Midwestern State vs. Dartmouth
Thursday, Mar. 17, 2016 | 10 a.m.
SMU Tennis Complex | Dallas, Texas

No. 12 Midwestern State vs. No. 28 Western New Mexico
Friday, Mar. 18, 2016 | 11 a.m.
MSU Tennis Center | Wichita Falls, Texas


WICHITA FALLS, Texas – No. 12 Midwestern State gears up to host matches against a pair of top-30 programs in No. 29 Southwest Baptist (Mo.) and No. 28 Western New Mexico while also making a trip to Dallas to face off against NCAA Division I Dartmouth (N.H.) this week.
 
The Mustangs begin their three-match weekly slate Wednesday at 1 p.m. at the MSU Tennis Center against Southwest Baptist before squaring off against Dartmouth, ranked 35th in Division I, on Thursday at 10 a.m. at the SMU Tennis Complex in Dallas. The Mustangs return home Friday to host Western New Mexico in an 11 a.m. matchup.
 
LAST TIME OUT
– Midwestern State went 3-0 last week with 9-0 sweeps over NJCAA No. 7 New Mexico Military Institute and Texas-Permian Basin in Midland while earning an 8-1 home win over Colorado Mesa
– Junior Ramon Toyos and freshmen Radu Popa and Dillon Pineda each tallied six wins on the weekend to lead Midwestern State to an undefeated slate
 
DAVIDSON EARNS 100TH CAREER WIN
– Senior Kyle Davidson became the 10th Mustang in MSU men's tennis history to reach the 100-win plateau Friday following a doubles win over Texas-Permian Basin
– Davidson enters the week with a career record of 102-54, tying for eighth on the all-time wins list with former teammate Kacper Boborykin
– Jason Peters is the MSU all-time wins leader with 144 victories from 1998-2001 and is followed by Michael Mills (137), Brett Emerson (133), Zac Dillard (131), Ryan Gillen (127), Brian Holcomb (117), Victor Vidal (108), Davidson & Boborykin (102) and Charles van Swelm (101) in the 100-win club
 
A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
– Midwestern State is 5-1 on the season and undefeated against NCAA Division II opponents with the lone loss coming to Tyler Junior College
– No. 39 Ramon Toyos leads the Mustangs with a 5-1 mark on the season, going 3-1 at the No. 2 position while posting a 2-0 mark at No. 1 singles
– Chris Norrie (4-1), Dylan Hall (4-2) and Dillon Pineda (4-0) have all racked up four singles wins in the early going to come in behind Toyos
– Davidson, ranked 27th in the national singles rankings, is 3-1 at the top of the lineup this season with a pair of wins over nationally-ranked opponents
– The 20th-ranked duo of Davidson and Toyos along with Zack Santagate and Dillon Pineda are 5-1 on the season in doubles play
 
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
– Southwest Baptist is 4-2 on the season with both losses coming to top-30 programs in No. 17 Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) (5-4) and No. 25 Southeastern Oklahoma State (5-3)
– MSU has also faced off against OBU this season, earning a 7-2 win over the Tigers in their home opener two weeks ago
– Sherif Abohabaga is ranked 26th in the national singles rankings and first in the Central Region with a 4-2 dual mark this season
– Abohabaga joins Chris Blodig in forming the 30th-ranked doubles pair in the country with a 4-2 dual match record
– Blodig ranks seventh in the region with a 3-3 mark on courts two and three this season while Torben Semrau is 19th in the region with a 5-0 record primarily playing on court four
– John Bryant is in his 50th season coaching the SBU men's tennis program with a career record of 706-394 (.642)
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
– Midwestern State and Southwest Baptist will meet for the 17th time Wednesday with the Mustangs carrying an 11-5 all-time record against the Bearcats dating back to 1998
– The Mustangs come in having won six straight in the series and are 1-0 against the Bearcats in Wichita Falls following a 6-3 win in 2014
– SBU last earned a win over the Mustangs in 2008 with a 6-3 victory in Lawton, Okla.
– A total of 12 of the previous 16 meetings have come in neutral site contests
 
SCOUTING THE BIG GREEN
– Dartmouth sports a 10-4 record, climbing as high as 34th in the ITA Division I rankings this season
– The Big Green will be playing just their third match away from home this season, beginning a seven-match road swing Thursday in Dallas
– Dovydas Sakinis comes in at 55th in the Division I singles rankings while joining Roko Glasnovic for 59th in the doubles rankings
– Sakinis has tallied a 6-7 dual match record on the year while posting a 4-1 mark at No. 1 doubles with Glasnovic
– The bottom of the lineup has helped carry Dartmouth this season with a combined record of 18-3 at Nos. 5 and 6
– Chris Drake enters his sixth season with the Dartmouth men's tennis program with a career record of 82-45 (.646)
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
– Midwestern State will square off against Dartmouth for the first time in program history Thursday
 
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
– Western New Mexico is 8-6 overall and 2-5 away from home this season
– The Mustangs are winners of five of their last six matches including a 6-3 win over No. 22 St. Edward's (Texas) last week in a neutral site matchup in Midland
– Jean-Laurent Pageault is ranked 31st in the Division II singles rankings and third in the South Central Region, sporting a 4-7 dual match record at No. 1 this season
– The duo of Tristian Da Lio and Vladimir Gnilozubov pair up for the No. 1 doubles team for the Mustangs with a 7-6 record
– Yair Banuelos is in his third season leading the WNMU men's tennis program with a 34-25 career mark (.576)
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
– Midwestern State and Western New Mexico have faced off twice before with MSU carrying a 2-0 record against WNMU
– The two teams have met once in Wichita Falls with MSU earning a 5-3 NCAA South Central Regional win in 2013
– MSU first faced WNMU back in 2008, coming away with an 8-1 win in a neutral site meeting in Glendale, Ariz.
 
MUSTANGS CLIMB TO PROGRAM-BEST 12TH IN ORACLE/ITA NATIONAL POLL
– Midwestern State rewrote the program record books on Feb. 24 when the Mustangs earned their highest national ranking in program history at No. 12 in the Oracle/ITA Men's Division II National Poll, released by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA)
– The Mustangs bested their previous program high of 14, which they set at the end of the fall season and at the conclusion of the 2015 season
– Midwestern also remained atop of the South Central Region rankings released on Feb. 17, coming in front of No. 15 Cameron, No. 22 St. Edward's (Texas), No. 28 Western New Mexico, and No. 35 Newman (Kan.)

LINN EARNS WIN NO. 400
– Head coach Scott Linn received a memorable win No. 400 last May when the MSU women's tennis team upset No. 12 California (Pa.) in the NCAA Sweet 16
– Linn enters his sixth season leading the MSU men's and women's tennis programs, guiding the Mustangs to a combined seven postseason appearances since taking over the programs in 2010-11
– Linn has posted an 83-37 record (.692) with the men's team while recording an 89-41 mark (.685) with the women for a combined 172-78 (.688)
– Since 1997-98, Linn has compiled a 411-257 (.615) career record in 15 seasons as a men's head coach (225-147, .605) and 12 seasons as a women's coach (186-110, .628), averaging close to 15 wins a season
– Prior to MSU, Linn served head coaching stints at Science & Arts. (Okla.), Embry-Riddle (Fla.) and Florida Southern while serving as a men's assistant coach at his alma mater, East Central (Okla.), and Indiana
 
LOOKING AHEAD
– Midwestern State will travel to Colorado for a five-match road trip during spring break, playing No. 7 Saint Leo (Fla.), No. 2 Hawaii Pacific and Metro State at the Regency Athletic Complex in Denver before taking on NCAA Division III Colorado College in Colorado Springs and Colorado State-Pueblo in Pueblo