No. 11 Midwestern State (13-7) vs. No. 24 Southeastern Okla. State (12-2)
Monday, Apr. 18, 2016 | 3 p.m.
MSU Tennis Center | Wichita Falls, Texas

 
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – No. 11 Midwestern State begins a three-match homestand to wrap up the regular season Monday when the Mustangs host No. 24 Southeastern Oklahoma State at 3 p.m. at the MSU Tennis Center.

LAST TIME OUT
– Midwestern State posted a 1-1 record on the weekend, remaining undefeated in regional play with a 5-2 win over No. 33 St. Edward's before suffering a 4-0 setback to Division I UT Arlington
– Freshman Benjamin Neander clinched the win for the Mustangs over St. Edward's, recording a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 win at No. 5 singles
– Senior Kyle Davidson and freshman Dillon Pineda also propelled the Mustangs to the win with Davidson coming away with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 win at No. 1 while Pineda led 6-1, 2-6, 2-0 when winning by retirement
– The 19th-ranked duo of Davidson and junior Ramon Toyos earned their second win over a nationally-ranked team this season with an 8-4 victory over the No. 20 tandem of Ricardo Pineda and Charlie Shin at No. 1 doubles
 
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 taking 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 is 13-7 on the season with a 9-3 mark against NCAA Division II opponents
– Davidson holds an 8-8 record 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 Toyos, who sports a 10-8 record as the No. 2 singles player for MSU, pair up as the 19th-ranked doubles team in the country with a 12-6 record at the top position this season
– Junior Chris Norrie has climbed to the No. 3 position for MSU, carrying an 11-6 mark on the season  
– Pineda has put together a solid first season with the Mustangs, compiling a team-best 13-4 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 Neander is 9-5 on the year
– In doubles, Pineda and senior Zack Santagate have posted a 12-7 slate as the No. 2 doubles team while Norrie and Popa are 12-6 at No. 3

SCOUTING THE SAVAGE STORM
– Southeastern Oklahoma State comes in with a 12-2 record on the year and 3-1 mark in the Great American Conference
– The Savage Storm are led by Max Fil, who ranks 45th nationally and first in the Central Region, with an 8-6 record at the No. 1 position
– Netanel Alcabas has won five straight coming into Monday's meeting with the Mustangs with a 10-5 season record at No. 2 singles to rank sixth in the Central Region
– The duo of Fil and Alcabas are third in the region in doubles play, sporting a 4-6 mark at No. 1
– Head coach Shawn Hamil is in his fifth season leading the Savage Storm men's tennis program
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
– Midwestern State holds a commanding 31-2 advantage in the all-time series with Southeastern Oklahoma State dating back to 1979
– The Mustangs have reeled off 31 straight in the series since the 1981 season with the Savage Storm earning both of their wins in 1979
– Midwestern is 10-1 at home against SEOSU including an 8-1 win in the last meeting between the two teams in 2014

MUSTANGS CLIMB TO PROGRAM-BEST 11TH IN ORACLE/ITA NATIONAL POLL
– Midwestern State continued to rewrite the program record books last month 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 week with a career record of 115-66 (.635)
– Davidson ranks sixth on the doubles wins list with a 64-30 record and ninth in singles with a 51-36 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 (115), 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 91-43 record (.679) with the men's team while recording a 98-47 mark (.676) with the women for a combined 189-90 (.677)
– Since 1997-98, Linn has compiled a 428-269 (.614) career record in 15 seasons as a men's head coach (233-153, .604) and 12 seasons as a women's coach (195-116, .627), 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 continues its homestand Wednesday with a matchup against No. 12 Cameron at 2 p.m. at the MSU Tennis Center