THE RUNDOWN
WICHITA FALLS – No. 15 Midwestern State secured at least a share of the Lone Star Conference regular season championship with an 8-1 win over UT Permian Basin on Friday. The Mustangs claim their fourth title overall, all coming in the last five years.
 
With the win and the head-to-head victory against Tarleton State, the Mustangs clinched the No. 1 seed at the Lone Star Conference Championships in Corpus Christi next Friday and Saturday.
 
Friday marked the first time in school history MSU claimed both the men's and women's regular season championship.
 
"It's a credit to the players and the staff around this program, the assistant coaches, the strength training coaches, the athletic trainers, but especially the players," MSU coach Scott Linn said. "They're the ones who come in during the summer and train. They're the ones who get up at 6 a.m. in the fall. They're the ones that work tirelessly in practice. They're the ones that travel all over the country with us playing matches. I'm very proud for all that hard work to pay off for them.
 
"It's pretty awesome to win our fourth title in the last five years considering the amount of turnover we've had on our roster. Players have stepped up, but we've also had players like Assistant Coach Amy Clifton that have been here for multiple championships. You have people like the Coffman family where Taylor and Maddy both have been part of multiple championships. That's neat to see those families buy into our program. The players buy into the challenges I put in front of them every day and commit to the opportunities. I'm proud of our women and the tradition that they've created."
 
The Mustangs swept all three doubles courts for the 16^th-time this season, improving to 16-0 when winning on all three courts.
 
At the No. 3 flight, senior Daria Panferova and freshman Maddie Rowe won their 17th-straight match, improving to 17-0, ousting Amelie Saint-Dizier and Madison Hoelting, 8-0 to put MSU up 1-0.
 
Junior Greta Lazzarotto and sophomore Bianca Duff matched the longest doubles winning streak in program history, routing Andrea Villalobos and Eugenia Sanchez, 8-2, at the No. 2 flight. The duo tied Monika Graff and Leah Roberts' school-record of 20-straight set in 2010, moving to 20-0 on the season.
 
The No. 12-ranked tandem of junior Maddy Coffman and sophomore Ashley Ramirez completed the sweep, downing Fernanda Orona and Maria Briones, 8-2, at No. 1 for the pair's 17th win of the season.
 
In singles, MSU grabbed first set wins on five of six courts en-route to the conference title. No. 72-ranked Duff swept Villalobos, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 2 to push the Mustangs advantage to 4-0.
 
At the No. 1 flight, the 36th-ranked Coffman clinched the deciding point for the Maroon and Gold, steamrolling Orona, 6-0, 6-1, to improve to 14-6 at the top flight on the year.
 
After celebrating her Senior Day festivities prior to the match, Panferova won her 15^th-straight singles match, matching Paige Boykin (2014) and Emily Black (2001) for the second-longest singles winning streak in school history. The Russian blasted Briones, 6-2, 6-0, to climb to 15-1 on the season and 14-0 at the No. 3 line.
 
Ramirez overcame a deficit in the first set to finish off Sanchez, 6-4, 6-3, at No. 4 before sophomore Emilija Segetlija defeated Paulina Obreque, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 6.
 
"I think the neatest thing that I've seen is that we've been top 25 in the nation for five years in a row," Linn added. "We've never dropped out of the top-25 which I think is amazing from a players standpoint and a program standpoint that we've been so consistent for so long, regardless of who's been in the lineup. It's a credit to our support staff as well. Kyle Williams, Gary Diehm, Trey Reed, Kurt Portmann and others have been here during that time. I'm very thankful to all the families as well that have helped add to the tradition of our program."

BOX SCORE
#15 Midwestern State (16-6, 5-1 LSC) def. UT Permian Basin (7-13, 1-4 LSC)
Friday, April 13, 2018 | 2 p.m.
Wichita Falls, Texas
MSU Tennis Center
 
Doubles
No. 1 – #12 Maddy Coffman/Ashley Ramirez (MSU) def. Fernanda Orona/Maria Briones (UTPB) 8-2
No. 2 – Bianca Duff/Greta Lazzarotto (MSU) def. Andrea Villalobos/Eugenia Sanchez (UTPB) 8-2
No. 3 – Daria Panferova/Maddie Rowe (MSU) def. Amelie Saint-Dizier/Madison Hoelting (UTPB) 8-0
 
Singles
No. 1 – #36 Maddy Coffman (MSU) def. Fernanda Orona (UTPB) 6-0, 6-1
No. 2 – #72 Bianca Duff (MSU) def. Andrea Villalobos (UTPB) 6-0, 6-0
No. 3 – Daria Panferova (MSU) def. Maria Briones (UTPB) 6-2, 6-0
No. 4 – Ashley Ramirez (MSU) def. Eugenia Sanchez (UTPB) 6-4, 6-3
No. 5 – Julia Ramalho (UTPB) def. Greta Lazzarotto (MSU) 6-3, 7-5
No. 6 – Emilija Segetlija (MSU) def. Paulina Obreque (UTPB) 6-2, 6-2
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2, 1); Singles (2, 1, 3, 4, 6, 5)
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State returns to the courts on Friday, April 20, at the Lone Star Conference Championships in Corpus Christi, Texas.