Midwestern State (13-9) vs. Western New Mexico (13-8) 
Lone Star Conference Semifinals
Friday, Apr. 21, 2017 | 2 p.m.
Arlington Tennis Center | Arlington, Texas


WICHITA FALLS, Texas – After competing as an independent for the past three seasons, Midwestern State sets its sights on its first conference title since 2013 as the 21st-ranked Mustangs travel to the Metroplex for the Lone Star Conference Championship at the Arlington Tennis Center.

The Mustangs open up play Friday at 2 p.m. as the No. 3 seed with a semifinal match against No. 26 Western New Mexico. The teams will square off just six days following a 5-4 win for WNMU in Silver City.

On the other side of the bracket, No. 25 Cameron earned the top seed in the tournament following a 3-0 conference record and will face UT Permian Basin in the other semifinal match.

The winners of the two semifinals will move on to compete for the LSC Championship in a 10 a.m. matchup Saturday.

MSU IN THE LSC CHAMPIONSHIP
- Midwestern State has captured three LSC Championships in its history with titles in 2001, 2006 and 2013
- In 2013, the Mustangs entered the tournament as the fourth seed before knocking off No. 1 Cameron and second-seeded Abilene Christian to claim their first conference championship under head coach Scott Linn while advancing to the national quarterfinals
- The Mustangs also took down Cameron and Abilene Christian en route to making its first NCAA Elite Eight appearance in 2006
- MSU claimed wins over Central Oklahoma and Abilene Christian to bring home its first conference crown in 2001
 
TOYOS NAMED LSC ACADEMIC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
- Senior Ramon Toyos was tabbed the LSC Academic Player of the Year Thursday, becoming just the second men's tennis player in school history to earn the honor
- Toyos joined two-time recipient Vjekoslav Stipanic (2010-11) as the only Mustangs to receive the highest academic award in the LSC
- Toyos ranked as high as fifth nationally in singles and ninth in doubles this season while carrying a 3.81 GPA as a double major in Mathematics and Psychology
 
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 60-26 career singles record and 59-33 doubles mark for a combined dual record of 119-59 (.669) 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), Toyos, Brian Holcomb (117), Victor Vidal (108), Kacper Boborykin (102) and Charles van Swelm (101)

A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
- Midwestern State enters the LSC Championship with a 13-9 overall record including an 8-6 slate against top-50 teams this season
- The Mustangs currently rank fourth in the NCAA South Central Region rankings behind St. Mary's (Texas), Cameron and Western New Mexico
- The top four teams from the South Central Region advance to the NCAA Tournament with the top two teams serving as hosts for opening round action Apr. 29-30 at their campus site
- Ramon Toyos ranks ninth nationally and second in the region in singles with an 11-7 record at No. 1, recording nine wins over regionally-ranked opponents along with two wins over nationally-ranked players this season
- Angel Palacios ranks 13th in the region playing line two for the Mustangs, totaling six wins over regionally-ranked foes on the year
- Dylan Hall also cracks the top 20 in the region at 19th with a 12-9 record playing No. 4 for MSU this season
- Chris Norrie leads the Mustangs with a 14-8 singles record this season with a 5-0 mark at No. 6
- Norrie and Dillon Pineda are 8-2 in their last 10 matches with Pineda posting an 11-7 record playing primarily on court six this season
- In doubles, Toyos and Pineda have teamed up for a 9-5 record at the top position with four wins over regionally-ranked tandems and a victory over WNMU's third-ranked duo of Vladimir Gnilozubov and Tristan Da Lio last weekend
- On court two, the duo of Hall and Palacios are also 9-5 while Chris and Denney Norrie have tallied a 7-7 mark at No. 3
 
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
- Western New Mexico finished the regular season with a 13-8 record with seven wins over top-50 teams
- Liam Fraboulet and Jean-Laurent Pageault both rank in the top 10 in the region in singles at eighth and ninth, respectively, playing the top two positions for the Mustangs
- Vladimir Gnilozubov leads WNMU with 14 wins at No. 3 to rank 17th in the region
- In doubles, Gnilozubov and Tristan Da Lio are ranked third nationally and first in the region with a 14-6 record at No. 1
- Fraboulet and Pageault carry a 13-7 mark at No. 2 to rank eighth in the regional doubles rankings

UP NEXT
- Midwestern State awaits selection into the NCAA Tournament following the LSC Championship with the selection show airing online at NCAA.com Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.