#21 Midwestern State (12-8, 0-1 LSC) at UT Permian Basin (6-5, 0-1 LSC)
Friday, Apr. 14, 2017 | 9:30 a.m.
Bush Tennis Center | Midland, Texas

#21 Midwestern State (12-8, 0-1 LSC) at #26 Western New Mexico (12-6, 1-0 LSC)
Saturday, Apr. 15, 2017 | 9 a.m.
WNMU Tennis Courts | Silver City, N.M.


WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Midwestern State looks to snap a two-match skid this weekend as the Mustangs continue Lone Star Conference action on the road against UT Permian Basin and No. 26 Western New Mexico. 

The Mustangs begin play Friday at 9:30 a.m. against UT Permian Basin at the Bush Tennis Center in Midland before concluding their road trip with a 9 a.m. (CST) Saturday matchup against 26th-ranked Western New Mexico at the WNMU Tennis Courts in Silver City. 

LAST TIME OUT
- Midwestern State suffered a 6-3 setback to No. 25 Cameron in its LSC opener Tuesday in Lawton, Okla., before falling 7-0 to former conference rival Abilene Christian Wednesday in Abilene
 
MSU REMAINS AT NO. 1 NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS
- Midwestern State stayed put at No. 1 in the second set of South Central Region rankings released by the NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Committee Wednesday
- Across the board, the regional rankings remained the same with MSU being joined by St. Mary's (Texas), Western New Mexico, Cameron and Metro State (Colo.) in the top five
- The top four teams from the South Central Region will advance to the NCAA Tournament with the top two teams serving as hosts for opening round action Apr. 29-30 at their campus site
- Two teams from each of the eight regions will advance to the NCAA Championship site to vie for a national title, May 9-12, at the Sanlando Park Tennis Center in Altamonte Springs, Fla.
 
MUSTANGS SLIP TO 21ST IN LATEST NATIONAL RANKINGS
- Despite four wins over top-25 opponents through the first 12 matches of the season, Midwestern State dropped out of the top 20 in the national rankings for the first time since Mar. 2013 three weeks ago, falling six spots to No. 21 in the Oracle/ITA poll
 
TOYOS REACHES 100 CAREER WINS
- Ramon Toyos became the 11th Mustang in program history to reach 100 career dual wins on March 3 following a 6-2, 6-0 win over Northwest Missouri State's No. 38 Roman Boissinot
- The Torrelavega, Spain native carries a 59-26 career singles record and 58-32 doubles mark for a combined dual record of 117-58 (.669) to tie for seventh on the all-time wins list
- Toyos followed former teammates Kacper Boborykin (2015) and Kyle Davidson (2016) to reach 100 wins with the Mustangs placing a player in the 100-win club for the third-straight season
- Jason Peters set the school record for career dual wins with 144 victories from 1998 to 2001
- Peters is followed by Michael Mills (137), Brett Emerson (133), Zac Dillard (131), Ryan Gillen (127), Kyle Davidson (124), Brian Holcomb and Toyos (117), Victor Vidal (108), Kacper Boborykin (102) and Charles van Swelm (101)

A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
- Midwestern State enters the weekend with a 12-8 record including an 8-5 mark against top-50 teams 
- Ramon Toyos ranks ninth nationally and first in the South Central Region in singles with a 10-7 record at No. 1, recording eight wins over regionally-ranked opponents and two nationally-ranked victories on his resume
- Angel Palacios has won six of his last eight matches for a 12-8 record playing No. 2 singles, totaling six wins over regionally-ranked foes for 14th in the regional rankings
- Dylan Hall ranks 18th in the region carrying an 11-8 record playing No. 4 for the Mustangs this season
- Chris Norrie has won six of his last seven contests to match Palacios for the team lead in wins with a 12-8 record on courts five and six
- In doubles, Toyos and Pineda have teamed up for an 8-4 record at the top position with three wins over regionally-ranked tandems
- On court two, the duo of Hall and Palacios are also 8-4 while Chris and Denney Norrie have tallied a 6-6 mark at No. 3
 
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
- UT Permian Basin has compiled a 6-5 record this season but carries just a 1-3 record against Division II teams 
- The Falcons fell to Western New Mexico, 7-2, in their LSC opener last month
- Raul Stevens ranks ninth in the South Central Region with a 7-4 mark playing at No. 1 singles 
- Stevens pairs up with Jordan Minjoot for a 7-4 record at No. 1 doubles to come in ninth in the region
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
- Midwestern State is 3-0 in the all-time series against UT Permian Basin with the teams squaring off in each of the last three seasons
- The Mustangs recorded sweeps over UTPB in 2014 and 2016 and added an 8-1 victory in 2015
 
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
- Western New Mexico comes in with a 12-6 overall record and 1-0 mark in the LSC to sit atop the league standings with Cameron
- The Mustangs have posted six wins over top-50 teams this season
- WNMU has won six of its last seven matches with its lone loss coming to Division I New Mexico State
- Liam Fraboulet ranks seventh in the South Central Region with a 6-9 record playing No. 1 singles for the Mustangs
- Jean-Laurent Pageault carries a 9-6 mark at No. 2 for 10th in the regional rankings
- At No. 3 singles, Vladimir Gnilozubov leads the Mustangs with a 13-4 record to come in at No. 17 in the region
- In doubles, Gnilozubov and Tristan Da Lio are ranked third nationally and first in the region with a 13-3 record, winners of their last 10 matches
- Fraboulet and Pageault carry a 12-4 mark at No. 2 to rank eighth in the regional doubles rankings
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
- Midwestern State holds a 2-0 lead in the series against Western New Mexico with wins in 2008 and 2013
- Saturday's meeting will be the first between the teams in Silver City
 
UP NEXT 
- Midwestern State wraps up the regular season Tuesday with a 3 p.m. match against No. 19 Southeastern Oklahoma at the Southeastern Tennis Complex in Durant, Okla.