#14 Midwestern State (16-8) vs. #19 Southeastern Oklahoma State (16-2)
NCAA Division II Sweet 16
Wednesday, May 18, 2016 | 3 p.m. (CT)
Regency Athletic Complex | Denver, Colo.
Live Stats | Live Video
 
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Midwestern State begins its run at the school's first national championship Wednesday as the 14th-ranked Mustangs open up the NCAA Championships against No. 19 Southeastern Oklahoma State in a Sweet 16 matchup at the Regency Athletic Complex in Denver.
 
The Mustangs will begin action against the Savage Storm at 3 p.m. (CT) as one of two men's Sweet 16 matches to be played at Metro State's Regency Athletic Complex. The Gates Tennis Center will also serve as a host site for the men's and women's tennis championships.
 
The Mile High City welcomes 76 teams and 20 qualifying individuals for the NCAA Division II National Championships Festival this week with teams competing for titles in men's and women's tennis, men's and women's golf, women's lacrosse and softball. Metro State and the Denver Sports Commission will serve as hosts for the ninth Division II festival and the first in the Western region of the country.
 
The winner between MSU and SOSU will move on to face either the top seed from the East Region, Concordia (N.Y.), or the No. 2 seed from the Midwest Region, Ferris State (Mich.), in the NCAA Elite Eight on Thursday at 2 p.m. (CT) at the Gates Tennis Center.
 
The two facilities each play host to a semifinal match Friday, leading up to Saturday's championship at the Regency Athletic Complex.
 
LAST TIME OUT
– Midwestern State punched its seventh ticket to the NCAA championship site May 7 with a 5-1 win over No. 28 St. Edward's (Texas) at the MSU Tennis Center
– Junior Chris Norrie clinched the win for the Mustangs with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph over Felix Bake at No. 3 singles
– MSU claimed wins at No. 1 and 2 doubles while senior Kyle Davidson and freshman Dylan Hall earned straight-set wins at No. 1 and 6 singles, respectively, to propel the Mustangs to victory
 
MSU IN THE POSTSEASON
– Midwestern State is making its 14th NCAA Division II Tournament appearance after earning its third-straight No. 1 seed in the South Central Region in 2016
– The Mustangs have advanced to the NCAA Championship site six other times in program history with trips in 1999, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2013 and 2014 with Elite Eight appearances in 2006, 2013 and 2014
– The Mustangs are 17-13 in postseason play since becoming an NCAA Division II member in 1997-98
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
– Southeastern Oklahoma State snapped a 31-match losing streak to the Mustangs on Apr. 18 as the 24th-ranked Savage Storm recorded a 6-3 upset win over No. 11 Midwestern State at the MSU Tennis Center
– The Mustangs reeled off 31-straight in the series from 1981-2014 with SOSU picking up the first two wins in the series during the 1979 season
 
A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
– Midwestern State enters the NCAA Sweet 16 with a 16-8 record on the season with seven of its 12 wins over Division II opponents coming against nationally-ranked teams
– The 14th-ranked Mustangs earned one of three at-large bids for the South Central Region into the NCAA Tournament after posting a 10-1 record against in-region competition this season
– Davidson tops the region in both singles and doubles, ranking 40th in the Oracle/ITA Division II Singles Rankings while coming in at No. 22 in doubles with junior Ramon Toyos
– Davidson has posted an 11-9 record at the top singles position for the Mustangs this season with four wins over nationally-ranked players and six coming against regionally-ranked opponents
– Toyos made his return to the national singles rankings two weeks ago at No. 47 with a 13-8 record this season while ranking sixth in the South Central Region
– Davidson and Toyos have compiled a 15-7 doubles record with three victories over top-30 doubles teams playing at the No. 1 position this season
– Norrie carries a 13-8 singles record to rank 16th in the region while playing at the No. 3 line for MSU
– Freshman Dillon Pineda has put together a solid first season with the Mustangs, recording a team-best 15-5 record at No. 4 singles  
– Pineda and senior Zack Santagate tie Davidson and Toyos for doubles wins this season with a 15-8 record playing at No. 2 to rank seventh in the regional rankings
– Freshmen Benjamin Neander and Hall round out the MSU singles lineup with Neander posting an 11-6 record playing the No. 5 position while Hall comes in with a 9-6 record as the No. 6 singles player

SCOUTING THE SAVAGE STORM
– Southeastern Oklahoma State is making its first trip to the NCAA Sweet 16, coming in on an eight-match win streak for a 16-2 season record
– The Savage Storm claimed the Great American Conference Tournament Championship for the first time in program history to earn the Central Region's No. 2 seed behind No. 12 Northwest Missouri State
– SOSU defeated No. 3 seed Nebraska-Kearney in the Central Region #2 Championship last week in Kearney with a 5-3 come-from-behind victory
– Senior Max Fil has posted a 10-7 record at No. 1 singles this season, earning a No. 8 ranking in the Central Region
– Sophomore Netanel Alcabas is 11-7 playing at the No. 2 position for the Savage Storm this season to rank 14th in the regional rankings
– Fil teams up with senior Tiago Ferreira at No. 1 doubles with a 5-2 dual record, while Alcabas pairs with junior Alberto Blesa for a 6-1 mark at No. 2
– Head coach Shawn Hamil is in his fifth season leading the Savage Storm men's tennis program

MUSTANGS RANKED 14TH IN FINAL REGULAR SEASON POLL
– Midwestern State made its fourth appearance in the top 15 of the Oracle/ITA Division II Men's Team Rankings, coming in at No. 14 in the latest national poll released Apr. 27
– The Mustangs fell three spots from their program-best ranking of No. 11 achieved in March
– MSU came in 12th in the first set of spring rankings released in February while appearing at No. 14 following the fall season

DAVIDSON RECORDS 100TH CAREER WIN
– Kyle Davidson became the 10th Mustang and just the second since 2008 to reach the 100-win plateau in MSU men's tennis history on Mar. 11
– Davidson climbed to sixth on the all-time wins list at Midwestern State following a pair of wins over Arkansas-Fort Smith in the regular season finale
– The Garland native enters the NCAA Championships with a career record of 121-68 (.640)
– Davidson ranks sixth on the MSU doubles wins list with a 67-31 record and eighth in singles with a 54-37 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), Davidson (121), Brian Holcomb (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 is in his sixth season leading the MSU men's and women's tennis programs, guiding the Mustangs to a combined nine postseason appearances since taking over the programs in 2010-11
– Linn has posted a 94-44 record (.681) with the men's team while recording a 101-50 mark (.669) with the women for a combined 195-94 (.675)
– Since 1997-98, Linn has compiled a 434-273 (.614) career record in 16 seasons as a men's head coach (236-154, .605) and 13 seasons as a women's coach (198-119, .625), 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