THE RUNDOWN
WICHITA FALLS – No. 18 Midwestern State claimed its Red River Rivalry showdown with 47th-ranked Cameron, 6-3, on Wednesday at the MSU Tennis Center. The Mustangs (17-5, 2-0 LSC) match the third-most wins under head coach Scott Linn, trailing only 2013's 20-win campaign and 2014's 19-win effort.
 
The Mustangs got a pair of wins from their two ranked doubles teams to grab an early 2-1 advantage after pairs play. The 21st-ranked tandem of Alex Martinez Roca and Angel Palacios rattled off their 12th-straight victory, downing Vinicius Santos and Luke Howard, 8-3, at the No. 3 line. With the win, Palacios matched the 11th-most combined wins in program history with his 36th win of the season.
 
The 17th-ranked pair of Dillon Pineda and Nolan McCaig won a thriller against the Aggies' 24th-ranked Mateo Velasco and Przemyslaw Zielinski, 9-7, at No. 1 to stretch the lead to 2-0. The duo improved to 15-6 on the year, including their third win over ranked opposition.
 
Closing out doubles, Vasudev Vijayaraman and Denney Norrie were unable to ride the momentum early in the match, falling to 36th-ranked Julen Gutierrez and Stefan Svicevic, 8-6, at No. 2.
 
In singles, the Mustangs improved to 9-3 overall in league play to close out the match. McCaig got the ball rolling in a straight-set decision against Velasco, 6-2, 6-1, improving to 14-5 on the season. Freshman Jean Muniz dominated Howard from the get-go, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 6. After Pineda faltered, 6-3, 6-2, at No. 2, the Maroon and Gold clinched the conference win as Martinez Roca ousted Julien Aubry-Damon, 6-2, 6-2, for his 16th win of the season. Despite a three-set setback to 75th-ranked Palacios at the No. 3 flight, MSU's 15th-ranked Vijayaraman earned a tight win in tiebreakers against 27th-ranked Zielinski, 7-6 (8), 7-6 (3), to close out the match.
 
BOX SCORE
#18 Midwestern State (17-5, 2-0 LSC) def. #47 Cameron (6-10, 1-1 LSC)
Wednesday, April 11, 2018 | 11 a.m.
Wichita Falls, Texas
MSU Tennis Center
 
Doubles
No. 1 – #17 Dillon Pineda/Nolan McCaig (MSU) def. #24 Mateo Velasco/Przemyslaw Zielinski (CU) 9-7
No. 2 – #36 Julen Gutierrez/Stefan Svicevic (CU) def. Vasudev Vijayaraman/Denney Norrie (MSU) 8-6
No. 3 – #21 Alex Martinez Roca/Angel Palacios (MSU) def. Vinicius Santos/Luke Howard (CU) 8-3
 
Singles
No. 1 – #15 Vasudev Vijayaraman (MSU) def. #27 Przemyslaw Zielinski (CU) 7-6 (8), 7-6 (3)
No. 2 – Vinicius Santos (CU) def. Dillon Pineda (MSU) 6-3, 6-2
No. 3 – Julen Gutierrez (CU) def. #75 Angel Palacios (MSU) 7-6 (5), 2-6, 11-9
No. 4 – Nolan McCaig (MSU) def. Mateo Velasco (CU) 6-2, 6-1
No. 5 – Alex Martinez Roca (MSU) def. Julien Aubry-Damon (CU) 6-2, 6-2
No. 6 – Jean Muniz (MSU) def. Luke Howard (CU) 6-1, 6-0
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 1, 2); Singles (4, 6, 2, 5, 3, 1)
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State returns to the courts on Friday for a Lone Star Conference and Senior Day matchup with 41st-ranked UT Permian Basin. First serve is slated for 2 p.m. at the MSU Tennis Center.