No. 11 Midwestern State (14-8) vs. Arkansas-Fort Smith (2-12)
Friday, Apr. 22, 2016 | 2 p.m.
MSU Tennis Center | Wichita Falls, Texas
 
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Coming off a 6-3 victory over No. 12 Cameron, the 11th-ranked Midwestern State men's tennis team will look to close out the regular season in winning fashion Friday when the Mustangs host Arkansas-Fort Smith in a 2 p.m. match at the MSU Tennis Center.
 
Prior to the match, head coach Scott Linn and the men's tennis program will honor seniors Kyle Davidson and Zack Santagate as they play their final regular season home matches.

LAST TIME OUT
– In a matchup of the top two teams in the South Central Region, Midwestern State reigned supreme Wednesday afternoon with a 6-3 win over No. 12 Cameron at the MSU Tennis Center
– The Mustangs claimed two of three doubles matches to take an early 2-1 lead on the Aggies
– Zack Santagate and freshman Dillon Pineda gave MSU a 1-0 lead with an 8-5 win at No. 2 doubles before Cameron evened the match with an 8-5 result at No. 1
– Junior Chris Norrie and freshman Benjamin Neander propelled the Mustangs back in front at 2-1 following a 9-8 (3) victory at No. 3 
– Junior Ramon Toyos and Pineda extended the MSU lead to 4-1 with straight-set wins at No. 2 and 4 singles, respectively
– Cameron cut into its deficit with a win at No. 6 before Kyle Davidson earned a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory on court one to clinch the match for the Mustangs
 
MUSTANGS STAY PUT AT NO. 2 IN NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS
– Midwestern State remained at No. 2 in South Central Regional rankings released by the NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Committee early Wednesday
– The Mustangs came in behind rival Cameron and in front of St. Mary's (Texas), Western New Mexico and St. Edward's in the regional poll
– 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 comes in with a 14-8 record on the season with six wins over nationally-ranked opponents
– Kyle Davidson is ranked 44th in the Oracle/ITA national singles rankings and first in the South Central Region with three wins over nationally-ranked opponents for a 9-9 record at the No. 1 position
– Davidson and Ramon Toyos, who is ranked sixth in the region with a 12-8 record as the No. 2 singles player for MSU, pair up as the 19th-ranked doubles team in the country and top tandem in the region with a 13-7 record at the No. 1 position this season
– Chris Norrie has climbed to the No. 3 position for MSU, carrying an 11-8 mark on the season to rank 16th in the regional rankings
– Dillon Pineda has put together a solid first season with the Mustangs, compiling a team-best 14-5 record while making the move up to the No. 4 line
– Freshmen Benjamin Neander, Radu Popa and Dylan Hall have made up the bottom of the lineup for the Mustangs this season
– Popa is 8-8 overall with a 3-1 record at No. 4 this season
– Neander is 10-6 overall with a 5-3 mark at No. 6 singles while Hall sports a 7-6 record with a 2-3 slate at No. 4 and 2-1 record at No. 5  
– In doubles, Pineda and senior Zack Santagate have posted a 13-8 slate at No. 2 to rank seventh in the region while Norrie and Popa are 12-6 at No. 3

SCOUTING THE LIONS
– Arkansas-Fort Smith is 2-12 on the season with wins over University of the Ozarks and Dallas Baptist 
– Josh Coleman is the No. 1 singles player for the Lions, having picked up two wins over nationally-ranked opponents this season
– Coleman also competes at the top position in doubles with Eric Manning, who has posted four singles wins for the Lions at No. 2
– Head coach Ben Anderson is in his first season as the head coach for the UAFS men's and women's tennis programs
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
– Midwestern State holds a perfect 8-0 record against Arkansas-Fort Smith in the all-time series
– The Mustangs have earned sweeps over the Lions in the last four meetings including a 9-0 victory in Fort Smith last season
– MSU is 2-0 at home against UAFS   

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 by the ITA on Apr. 20, 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 tied for sixth on the all-time wins list at Midwestern State, entering the weekend with a career record of 117-68 (.632)
– Davidson ranks sixth on the doubles wins list with a 65-31 record and ninth in singles with a 52-37 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 and Davidson (117), 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 92-44 record (.676) with the men's team while recording a 99-47 mark (.678) with the women for a combined 191-91 (.677)
– Since 1997-98, Linn has compiled a 430-270 (.614) career record in 15 seasons as a men's head coach (234-154, .603) and 12 seasons as a women's coach (196-116, .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 learn its postseason fate Tuesday, May 3 at 7 p.m. (CT) when the NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Selection Show airs on NCAA.com