THE RUNDOWN
LAS VEGAS – After coming one match shy of upsetting fourth-ranked Hawaii Pacific on Wednesday, No. 12-ranked Midwestern State raced to a quick victory against No. 9 Azusa Pacific on Friday in the Spring Break finale at the Darling Tennis Center in Las Vegas.
 
The win is the Mustangs first over a team ranked in the Oracle/ITA top 10 since defeating No. 10 Southwest Baptist, 6-3, on March 16, 2016.
 
Midwestern State opened the match with three straight wins in doubles before back-to-back singles wins clinched the win before the Cougars got on the board.
 
In doubles, senior Daria Panferova and freshman Maddie Rowe paired up to defeat Mikayla Rinker and Courtney Page, 8-3, at the No. 3 flight to start the day, earning their sixth-straight victory together. Shortly thereafter, MSU's tandem of sophomore Bianca Duff and junior Greta Lazzarotto fought off Toby Miclat and Kara Hinton, 8-6, at No. 2 to push the lead to 2-0 and improve to 9-0 on the year. Junior Maddy Coffman and sophomore Ashley Ramirez completed the doubles sweep, topping Diana Baumgartnere and Petra Ivankovic, 8-6 at No. 1.
 
MSU never looked back after doubles, getting wins in straight sets at the No. 2 and No. 3 flight to clinch the match. Duff rolled through Ivankovic, 6-0, 6-2, at No. 2 to push the score to 4-0. In the lone ranked matchup of the day, 20th-ranked Panferova made short work of 32nd-ranked Baumgartnere, 6-2, 6-2, to secure the win for the Maroon and Gold.
 
With the match already decided, APU rattled off wins on the final four singles courts to close the gap. Coffman dropped a 6-2, 6-4 decision to Miclat at No. 1 and sophomore Emilija Segetlija fell to April Wong, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 5. Lazzarotto and Ramirez split the first two sets with Jackie Resler and Hinton, respectively, before bowing out in super-set tiebreakers in the third.

BOX SCORE
#12 Midwestern State (5-5) def. #9 Azusa Pacific (10-3)
Friday, March 16, 2018 | 1 p.m.
Las Vegas, Nevada
Darling Tennis Center
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Maddy Coffman/Ashley Ramirez (MSU) def. Diana Baumgartnere/Petra Ivankovic (APU) 8-6
No. 2 – Bianca Duff/Greta Lazzarotto (MSU) def. Toby Miclat/Kara Hinton (APU) 8-6
No. 3 – Daria Panferova/Maddie Rowe (MSU) def. Mikayla Rinker/Courtney Page (APU) 8-3
 
Singles
No. 1 – Toby Miclat (APU) def. Maddy Coffman (MSU) 6-2, 6-4
No. 2 – Bianca Duff (MSU) def. Petra Ivankovic (APU) 6-0, 6-2
No. 3 – #20 Daria Panferova (MSU) def. #32 Diana Baumgartnere (APU) 6-2, 6-2
No. 4 – Kara Hinton (APU) def. Ashley Ramirez (MSU) 6-4, 4-6, 11-9
No. 5 – April Wong (APU) def. Emilija Segetlija (MSU) 6-2, 6-1
No. 6 – Jackie Resler (APU) def. Greta Lazzarotto (MSU) 4-6, 6-1, 10-4
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2, 1); Singles (2, 3, 1, 5, 6, 4)
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State returns to the courts on Friday, March 23, for a doubleheader matchup with Colorado State-Pueblo and Colorado Mesa in Pueblo.