ARLINGTON, Texas – Intensity from the start carried No. 3 seed Midwestern State to a dominant 5-1 victory over No. 2 Western New Mexico in the Lone Star Conference semifinals Friday afternoon at the Arlington Tennis Center.

No. 21 Midwestern State (14-9) carried momentum early taking two of three doubles matches highlighted by a 9-7 victory at No. 1 for Ramon Toyos and Dillon Pineda over the nation's third-ranked duo of Vladimir Gnilozubov and Tristan Da Lio.

Less than a minute later, the tandem of Chris and Denney Norrie came away with an 8-5 win at No. 3 doubles before Western New Mexico (13-9) earned its lone point of the match with an 8-3 win for Jean-Laurent Pageault and Liam Fraboulet at No. 2 over Angel Palacios and Dylan Hall.

No. 9 Toyos quickly extended the MSU lead to 3-1 with a 6-1, 6-0 thumping of Fraboulet at the top position.

Midwestern was able to finish off 26th-ranked Western New Mexico with Pineda and Chris Norrie earning wins at the bottom of the lineup. Pineda propelled MSU to a 4-1 advantage with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Sascha Brechtel on court five before Norrie recorded the clincher at No. 6 with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Blayze O'Keefe for the 5-1 final.

Midwestern State squares off against top-seeded Cameron in the LSC Championship tomorrow at 10 a.m. at the Arlington Tennis Center. The Aggies were victorious over UT Permian Basin, 5-0, in their semifinal match.


#21 Midwestern State 5, #26 Western New Mexico 1
Apr. 21, 2017 at Arlington, Texas (Arlington Tennis Center)

Singles Competition
1. #9 Ramon Toyos (MSU) def. Liam Fraboulet (WNMU) 6-1, 6-0
2. Jean-Laurent Pageault (WNMU) vs. Angel Palacios (MSU) 6-4, 3-3, unfinished
3. Vladimir Gnilozubov (WNMU) vs. Dylan Hall (MSU) 6-4, 5-2, unfinished
4. Tristan Da Lio (WNMU) vs. Vasudev Vijayaraman (MSU) 3-6, 6-3, 0-1, unfinished
5. Dillon Pineda (MSU) def. Sascha Brechtel (WNMU) 6-1, 7-5
6. Chris Norrie (MSU) def. Blayze O'Keefe (WNMU) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles Competition
1. Ramon Toyos/Dillon Pineda (MSU) def. #3 Vladimir Gnilozubov/Tristan Da Lio (WNMU) 9-7
2. Jean-Laurent Pageault/Liam Fraboulet (WNMU) def. Angel Palacios/Dylan Hall (MSU) 8-3
3. Chris Norrie/Denney Norrie (MSU) def. Blayze O'Keefe/Zachary Grabovic (WNMU) 8-5
 
Match Notes:
Midwestern State 14-9; National ranking #21; Regional ranking #4
Western N.M. 13-9; National ranking #26; Regional ranking #3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (1,5,6)
LSC Men's Tennis Championship Semifinals