#15 Midwestern State (17-4, 3-0 LSC) at UT Permian Basin (6-10, 1-2 LSC)
Friday, Apr. 14, 2017 | 9:30 a.m.
Bush Tennis Center | Midland, Texas

#15 Midwestern State (17-4, 3-0 LSC) at Western New Mexico (3-15, 0-3 LSC)
Saturday, Apr. 15, 2017 | 9 a.m.
WNMU Tennis Courts | Silver City, N.M.


WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Midwestern State looks to clinch the No. 1 seed for next week's Lone Star Conference Tournament with a pair of league matches on the road this weekend against UT Permian Basin and Western New Mexico.

The Mustangs open up Friday at 9:30 a.m. against UT Permian Basin at the Bush Tennis Center in Midland before wrapping up their road trip with a 9 a.m. (CST) Saturday matchup against Western New Mexico at the WNMU Tennis Courts in Silver City. 

LAST TIME OUT
- Midwestern State split a pair of matches this week, posting a 6-3 win over No. 24 Cameron in Lawton, Okla., before falling to Division I Abilene Christian, 7-0, in Abilene

MSU STAYS AT NO. 2 IN SECOND SET OF NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS
- Midwestern State remained at No. 2 in the second set of South Central Region rankings released by the NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Committee Wednesday 
- The 15th-ranked Mustangs come in behind No. 12 St. Mary's while appearing in front of No. 43 Dallas Baptist, No. 24 Cameron and Tarleton State
- The top four teams from the region will advance to the NCAA Tournament with the top two teams serving as hosts for opening round action May 1-2 at their campus sites
- Two teams from each of the eight regions will advance to the NCAA Championship site to compete for a national title, May 10-13, at the Sanlando Park Tennis Center in Altamonte Springs, Fla.
 
MUSTANGS CLIMB TO 15TH IN NATIONAL POLL
- The Mustangs achieved their fourth-highest national ranking in program history on Mar. 22, jumping six spots to No. 15 in the Oracle/ITA Women's Division II national poll
- The top-15 ranking is the fourth for the program in the last three seasons, earning a program-best ranking of 13th at the conclusion of the 2015 season that included a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight and back-to-back rankings of No. 14 during the 2015 season

A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
- Midwestern State enters the weekend with a 17-4 overall record and currently leads the Lone Star Conference with a 3-0 mark
- The Mustangs have won nine-straight matches against Division II teams and carry a 7-3 record against nationally-ranked programs this season
- The Mustangs sport three players in the top 10 in the regional singles rankings in Daria Panferova (5th), Bianca Duff (7th) and Eirini Kontaki (9th)
- At the No. 1 position, Panferova boasts a 12-8 record with a team-best six wins over regionally-ranked players this season
- Duff carries a 15-6 mark on the season including a 13-3 record at No. 3 singles with three wins against the region's top-20 players
- Kontaki has recorded a 13-7 overall record with three wins over regionally-ranked foes playing line two for the Mustangs
- Maddy Coffman comes in having won 13 of her last 14 matches for a 17-4 record at No. 4 
- At No. 5 singles, Greta Lazzarotto adds a 16-4 mark, claiming 11 of her last 12 matches 
- Ashley Ramirez has posted a 13-5 record playing at No. 6 singles in her first collegiate season, winning 10 of her last 11
- The Mustangs boast two doubles teams that sit atop the program record books in single-season winning percentage with a .905 clip
- At No. 1, Coffman and Duff sport a 19-2 record to rank seventh in the South Central Region
- Lazzarotto and Ramirez have won 12-straight matches on court three to match the No. 1 tandem with a 19-2 mark
- On court two, Panferova and Kontaki have compiled a 6-2 record  

SCOUTING THE FALCONS
- UT Permian Basin comes in with a 6-10 overall record and 1-2 mark in the LSC for fifth in the league standings
- UTPB's lone win over a Division II program came in a 6-3 victory over Western New Mexico last month
- Paulina Obreque is 7-7 playing No. 6 singles to lead the Falcons in wins while Abigail Andress adds five wins playing at No. 4
- In doubles, Sofia Ochoa Arminana and Krissy Chavez have posted three wins playing No. 2 for the Falcons
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
- Midwestern State is 3-1 in the series against UT Permian Basin, recording wins over the Falcons in each of the last three seasons
- The Mustangs have allowed just one point to UTPB in the last three meetings with 9-0 sweeps in 2014 and 2016 and an 8-1 win in 2015
- The Falcons earned their lone win in the series with a 6-3 victory in 1987
 
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
- Western New Mexico is 3-15 on the season and 0-3 in LSC play after conference losses to Texas A&M-Kingsville and Tarleton State last week
- The Mustangs have yet to record a win over a Division II team this season, earning their best shot last week in a 5-4 loss to Tarleton
- Karina Diaz has compiled a 6-6 record at No. 6 singles to lead WNMU in wins, having won her last three matches
- Nadia Justiniano and Emma Siboni have posted five doubles wins on court three to pace the Mustangs
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
- Midwestern State and Western New Mexico will square off in just the second meeting between the teams Saturday with MSU leading the all-time series
- The two teams last met in 2007 with MSU recording a 7-2 win in Portales, N.M.
 
UP NEXT 
- Midwestern State concludes the regular season on the road Tuesday with a 3 p.m. match against No. 41 Southeastern Oklahoma at the Southeastern Tennis Complex in Durant, Okla.