THE RUNDOWN
PUEBLO – No. 19-ranked Midwestern State claimed a pair of wins over RMAC opposition on Friday in Pueblo. The Mustangs coasted to an easy 9-0 win against the 45th-ranked Thunderwolves, winning in straight-sets across the board. In the nightcap, MSU rattled off an 8-1 win with the lone loss coming in a tiebreaker.
 
Freshman Alex Martinez Roca and sophomore Angel Palacios bounced CSUP's Cade Boedeker and David Mould, 8-2, at the No. 3 line to open the match. Senior Vasudev Vijayaraman and sophomore Denney Norrie followed with an 8-3 victory over James Ryan and Dante Alcala at No. 2. The tandem earned their team-leading 10th win of the season, moving to 10-3 on the year. MSU's 36th-ranked pair of junior Dillon Pineda and freshman Nolan McCaig fought off a valiant effort from Thomas Pudney and Ogulcan Deniz, 8-6, at the No. 1 flight to stretch the Mustangs' lead to 3-0.
 
The Maroon and Gold extinguished any hopes the Thunderwolves might have had of coming back very quickly in singles. 26th-ranked Palacios rattled off a 6-1, 6-1 win over Deniz at No. 3, winning his 11th-straight match and bolstering his record at the No. 3 line to 9-0. McCaig clinched the match for the Maroon and Gold, winning 6-3, 6-3 against Boedeker at No. 4. Coming in at No. 28 in this week's Oracle/ITA singles rankings, Vijayaraman scored the day's biggest upset, knocking off 14th-ranked Pudney, 7-6 (5), 6-3 at the No. 1 line for his second win over ranked opposition this season. Norrie added insult to injury, expanding the MSU lead to 7-0, dropping only one set to Steven Alcala, 6-0, 6-1, at the No. 6 flight before Roca and Pineda completed the sweep at the No. 5 and No. 2 lines, respectively.
 
In the nightcap, the Mustangs built a 2-1 lead after doubles and claimed wins on all six singles courts to clinch the win.
 
The doubles team of Pineda and McCaig posted an 8-5 win over Nick Farmen and Will Agritelley at No. 1 while Roca and Palacios improved to 10-1 on the year with an 8-1 win against Max Lindgvist and Mitchell Steadman at No. 3.
 
In singles, freshman Jean Muniz earned his seventh win of the season, improving to 6-0 at the No. 5 flight after a 6-2, 7-6 (4) victory against Agritelley.
 
BOX SCORE
#19 Midwestern State (9-4) def. #45 Colorado State-Pueblo (9-12)
Friday, March 23, 2018 | 9 a.m.
Pueblo, Colo.
Pueblo City Park Tennis Complex
 
Doubles
No. 1 – #36 Dillon Pineda/Nolan McCaig (MSU) def. Thomas Pudney/Ogulcan Deniz (CSUP) 8-6
No. 2 – Vasudev Vijayaraman/Denney Norrie (MSU) def. James Ryan/Dante Alcala (CSUP) 8-3
No. 3 – Alex Martinez Roca/Angel Palacios (MSU) def. Cade Boedeker/David Mould (CSUP) 8-2
 
Singles
No. 1 – #28 Vasudev Vijayaraman (MSU) def. #14 Thomas Pudney (CSUP) 7-6 (5), 6-3
No. 2 – Dillon Pineda (MSU) def. Ogulcan Deniz (CSUP) 7-6 (3), 6-3
No. 3 – #26 Angel Palacios (MSU) def. James Ryan (CSUP) 6-1, 6-1
No. 4 – Nolan McCaig (MSU) def. Cade Boedeker (CSUP) 6-3, 6-3
No. 5 – Alex Martinez Roca (MSU) def. Rafael Abreu (CSUP) 6-4, 6-0
No. 6 – Denney Norrie (MSU) def. Steven Alcala (CSUP) 6-0, 6-1
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2, 1); Singles (3, 4, 1, 6, 5, 2)
 
#19 Midwestern State (10-4) def. Colorado Mesa (5-15)
Friday, March 23, 2018 | 3 p.m.
Pueblo, Colo.
Pueblo City Park Tennis Complex
 
Doubles
No. 1 – #36 Dillon Pineda/Nolan McCaig (MSU) def. Nick Farmen/Will Agritelley (CMU) 8-5
No. 2 – Alain De La Bastide/Lucas Martin (CMU) def. Vasudev Vijayaraman/Denney Norrie (MSU) 9-8 (6)
No. 3 – Alex Martinez Roca/Angel Palacios (MSU) def. Max Lindgvist/Mitchell Steadman (CMU) 8-1
 
Singles
No. 1 – #28 Vasudev Vijayaraman (MSU) def. Max Lindgvist (CMU) 6-2, 7-5
No. 2 – Dillon Pineda (MSU) def. Nick Farmen (CMU) 6-3, 7-5
No. 3 – #26 Angel Palacios (MSU) def. Lucas Martin (CMU) 6-0, 6-3
No. 4 – Nolan McCaig (MSU) def. Alain De La Bastide (CMU) 6-3, 6-1
No. 5 – Jean Muniz (MSU) def. Will Agritelley (CMU) 6-2, 7-6 (4)
No. 6 – Alex Martinez Roca (MSU) def. Daniel Ness (CMU) 6-1, 6-1
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 1, 2); Singles (3, 1, 4, 2, 5, 6)
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State returns to the courts on Saturday, March 24, for a matchup with Metro State-Denver in Pueblo. First serve is slated for 11 a.m.