No. 11 Midwestern State (12-6) vs. No. 33 St. Edward's (9-11)
Friday, Apr. 15, 2016 | 2 p.m.
Strohmeyer Varsity Courts | Austin, Texas
Live Stats
 
No. 11 Midwestern State (12-6) vs. UT Arlington (14-10)
Saturday, Apr. 16, 2016 | 11:30 a.m.
UTA Tennis Center | Arlington, Texas
 
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – The 11th-ranked Midwestern State men's tennis team will wrap up their regular season road schedule this weekend as the Mustangs travel to take on No. 33 St. Edward's and Division I UT Arlington.
 
Midwestern State begins weekend action Friday at 2 p.m. against the Hilltoppers at the Strohmeyer Varsity Courts in Austin before heading to Arlington to face the Mavericks in an 11:30 a.m. Saturday match at the UTA Tennis Center.
 
LAST TIME OUT
– Midwestern State began its road swing with a 5-2 defeat to Division I Abilene Christian Wednesday evening at the Eager Tennis Pavilion in Abilene
– Junior Ramon Toyos and freshman Dillon Pineda each earned three-set wins in singles play to record points for the Mustangs
– It was a close match the entire way as ACU earned a pair of 7-5 results at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles and a 6-4 victory at No. 3 to come away with the early point
– The Wildcats also recorded two straight-set wins in singles before a pair of three-set victories for the 5-2 final
 
MUSTANGS COME IN SECOND IN FIRST SET OF NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS
– Midwestern State appeared at No. 2 in the first set of South Central Regional rankings released by the NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Committee Wednesday
– The Mustangs came in behind rival Cameron despite a perfect regional record of 7-0 on the season
– St. Mary's (Texas), Western New Mexico and St. Edward's rounded out the top five in the region
– The top four teams in the region will qualify for the NCAA postseason with the regional tournament to take place May 7-10 at select campus sites
– The top two teams out of the South Central Region will advance to the NCAA Championships, May 18-21, at the Gates Tennis Center in Denver, Colo.
 
A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
– Midwestern State comes into the weekend with a 12-6 record this season and 8-3 mark against NCAA Division II opponents
– Senior Kyle Davidson is 7-7 on the season with three wins over nationally-ranked players at the No. 1 position to earn a No. 44 ranking in the national singles rankings
– Davidson and junior Ramon Toyos, who sports a 10-7 record as the No. 2 singles player for MSU, pair up as the 19th-ranked doubles team in the country with an 11-6 record at the top position this season
– Junior Chris Norrie has climbed to the No. 3 position for MSU, carrying an 11-5 mark on the season  
– Freshman Dillon Pineda has put together a solid first season with the Mustangs, compiling a team-best 12-4 record while making the move up to the No. 4 line
– At the bottom of the lineup, freshman Radu Popa is 8-8 overall while freshman Benjamin Neander is 8-4 on the year
– In doubles, Pineda and senior Zack Santagate have posted an 11-6 slate as the No. 2 doubles team while Norrie and Popa are 12-6 at No. 3

SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
– St. Edward's is 9-11 on the season and ranks 33rd in the Oracle/ITA Division II national poll
– The Hilltoppers are 0-5 against nationally-ranked Division II opponents this season, falling just short to No. 12 Cameron, 5-4, Thursday
– Ricardo Pineda ranks eighth in the South Central Region with an 8-8 mark at No. 1 singles this season for the Hilltoppers
– Charlie Shin comes in 10th in the region with a 9-3 record at the No. 2 position while teaming up with Pineda to form the 20th-ranked doubles team in the country and third in the region with a 14-4 record
– Maximo Agoglia also makes an appearance in the regional rankings at No. 15 with an 11-9 record
– Estevam Strecker is in his second season with the Hilltoppers, leading SEU to an 11-9 record and an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance in 2015
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
– St. Edward's holds a 12-8 edge in the all-time series against Midwestern State dating back to the 1999 season
– The Mustangs have won the last four meetings including an 8-1 victory last season in Wichita Falls
– MSU last won in Austin in 2014 with a 7-1 win over the Hilltoppers
– St. Edward's posted 10-straight wins in the series from 2004-12
 
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
– UT Arlington is 14-10 overall after dropping its last three matches to top-30 opponents
– The Mavericks boast a 10-1 record at home this season
– Jhonathan Gonzalez is the No. 1 singles player for UTA, coming in with a 9-11 dual record on the season
– Carlos Arbiza and Daniel Armengol lead the Mavericks in wins, each posting a 13-2 record
– Arbiza is 7-0 at No. 4 this season while Armengol has tallied a 9-1 mark at No. 5
– In doubles, Gonzalez and Armengol have posted a 12-4 dual record, going 11-3 at No. 2 to lead UTA in the win column
– Diego Benitez is in his 11th season with the UTA men's tennis program
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
– Midwestern State and UT Arlington come into Saturday's meeting deadlocked at 4-4 in the all-time series
– The teams have met just twice in the 21st century with the Mavericks earning a 7-0 win in 2003 and a 5-2 win last season in Arlington
– The Mustangs won four-straight contests from 1981-87
  
MUSTANGS CLIMB TO PROGRAM-BEST 11TH IN ORACLE/ITA NATIONAL POLL
– Midwestern State continued to rewrite the program record books three weeks ago when the Mustangs earned their highest team ranking in school history at No. 11 in the Oracle/ITA Men's Division II National Poll, released by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association
– The Mustangs moved up one spot after coming in 12th in the first set of spring rankings on Feb. 24, which matched their previous program-best ranking that was set on Apr. 30, 2015
– Midwestern also remained atop the South Central Region rankings released on Mar. 16, coming in front of No. 12 Cameron, No. 27 St. Mary's, No. 28 Western New Mexico and No. 33 St. Edward's

DAVIDSON EARNS 100TH CAREER WIN
– Kyle Davidson became the 10th Mustang in MSU men's tennis history to reach the 100-win plateau following a doubles win over Texas-Permian Basin on Mar. 11
– Davidson is currently seventh on the all-time wins list at Midwestern State, entering the weekend with a career record of 113-65 (.635)
– Davidson ranks sixth on the doubles wins list with a 63-30 record and ninth in singles with a 50-35 mark
– 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), Davidson (113), Victor Vidal (108), Kacper Boborykin (102) and Charles van Swelm (101)

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 a 90-42 record (.682) with the men's team while recording a 97-47 mark (.674) with the women for a combined 187-89 (.678)
– Since 1997-98, Linn has compiled a 426-268 (.614) career record in 15 seasons as a men's head coach (232-152, .604) and 12 seasons as a women's coach (194-116, .626), 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 begins a three-match homestand Monday at 3 p.m. with a top-25 showdown against No. 24 Southeastern Oklahoma State at the MSU Tennis Center