THE RUNDOWN
SAN ANTONIO – The 23rd-ranked MSU Texas men's tennis team coasted to an 8-1 victory over Laredo Community College on Friday at Rohrbach Stadium on the campus of St. Mary's. Midwestern State improved to 2-1 heading into the showdown with the 22nd-ranked Rattlers tomorrow.
 
Midwestern State took command of the match early, posting a 2-1 lead with wins on the top two doubles courts. Overall, the Mustangs improved to 7-2 on the season in pairs play.
 
The Mustang's pair of Vasudev Vijayaraman and Denney Norrie bested Manuel Pilotto and Juan Cruz Scoppetta, 8-1 at the No. 2 line for MSU's first win of the day before the tandem of Dillon Pineda and Nolan McCaig ousted Espinal and Alberto Mello, 8-1, at the No. 1 spot. The Palominos got on the board as Alex Martinez Roca and Jean Muniz were tripped up by Thomas Golden and Jason Roberts at No. 3, 8-4.
 
The Maroon and Gold continued their dominance in singles, picking up wins on all six courts to take the win. Freshman Nolan McCaig stretched the lead to 3-1, taking a 6-2, 6-0 victory against Golden on No. 4. MSU pushed it to 4-1 when sophomore Angel Palacios earned a 6-2, 6-0 decision over Roberts at No. 3.
 
Midwestern State secured the match, going up 5-1 after freshman Jean Muniz improved to 3-0 on the season with a 6-4, 6-3 win against Mello at No. 5. Following a three-set win by sophomore Joshua Sundaram, 6-1, 5-7, 10-5, over Pilotto at No. 2, freshman Alex Martinez Roca also bolstered his season record to 3-0, downing Diego Vespa-Cruz, 6-1, 6-1 at the No. 6 line. Senior Vasudev Vijayaraman completed the singles sweep for MSU, overcoming a first-set loss to Scoppetta, 5-7, 6-4, 10-8 at No. 1.

BOX SCORE
Doubles
No. 1 – Dillon Pineda/Nolan McCaig (MSU) def. B. Espinal/Alberto Mello (LCC) 8-1
No. 2 – Vasudev Vijayaraman/Denney Norrie (MSU) def. Manuel Pilotto/Juan Cruz Scoppetta (LCC) 8-1
No. 3 –Thomas Golden/Jason Roberts (LCC) def. Alex Martinez Roca/Jean Muniz (MSU) 8-4
 
Singles
No. 1 – Vasudev Vijayaraman (MSU) def. Juan Cruz Scoppetta (LCC) 5-7, 6-4, 10-8
No. 2 – Joshua Sundaram (MSU) def. Manuel Pilotto (LCC) 6-1, 5-7, 10-5
No. 3 – Angel Palacios (MSU) def. Jason Roberts (LCC) 6-2, 6-0
No. 4 – Nolan McCaig (MSU) def. Thomas Golden (LCC) 6-2, 6-0
No. 5 – Jean Muniz (MSU) def. Alberto Mello (LCC) 6-4, 6-3
No. 6 – Alex Martinez Roca (MSU) def. Diego Vespa-Cruz (LCC) 6-1, 6-1
 
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 1, 3); Singles (4, 3, 5, 2, 6, 1)

UP NEXT
Midwestern State is back in action on Saturday, Feb. 17 against St. Mary's in San Antonio. First serve is set for noon.