THE RUNDOWN
SURPRISE, Ariz. – Midwestern State gave second-ranked Hawaii Pacific everything it could handle in the NCAA II Round of 16 match at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex in Surprise, Arizona, on Tuesday. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, a tiebreaker setback in doubles proved to be the difference maker, falling 5-2 to the Sharks.
 
MSU finishes the regular season at 19-7 with a Lone Star Conference regular season and postseason tournament title as well as the team's sixth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and eighth overall trip to the Round of 16.
 
For the first time since the season-opener, the Mustangs trailed 2-1 going into singles play despite forcing tiebreakers at the Nos. 2 and 3 lines.
 
The No. 4-ranked duo of Maddy Coffman and Ashley Ramirez suffered an 8-2 setback to 10th-ranked Lena Lutzeier and Oceane Adam at the No. 1 flight to put the Sharks on the board.
 
Shortly after, the tandem of Bianca Duff and Greta Lazzarotto put up a valiant effort against Lara Meccico and Barbora Kijasova, but ultimately fell in a tiebreaker, 10-8, at No. 2. Duff and Lazzarotto finish the season with a 23-1 record, snapping their program-record 23 match winning streak.
 
In the other tiebreaking-thriller, MSU's Daria Panferova and Maddie Rowe rode a late momentum surge to capture a point. The pair trounced Debora Echeverria and Leticia dos Santos, 7-2, in the breaker to improve to 21-0.
 
In singles, MSU and HPU split first sets on all six courts.
 
No. 63 Bianca Duff fell to third-ranked Lara Meccico -- 6-0, 6-1 -- at the No. 2 flight to stretch the Sharks' lead to 3-1.
 
MSU's lone senior, Panferova took down 21st-ranked Adam easily -- 6-2, 6-0 -- at No. 3 to pull the Mustangs back within one. With her 18th-straight win, the Moscow native broke the program's record, running her record to 18-1 in her final campaign.
 
The Sharks moved within a point of clinching the match as Kijasova pulled out a 6-2, 6-1 win against Emilija Segetlija at No. 6, moving the score to 4-2.
 
Playing against the nation's top-ranked player in Lutzeier, Coffman mounted a furious rally in the second set that came up just shy, 6-0, 7-5.
 
Ramirez trailed 1-0 after splitting the first two sets with Echeverria at No. 4 while Lazzarotto led dos Santos, 6-4, 5-2, in the second.

BOX SCORE
#2 Hawaii Pacific (20-2) def. #11 Midwestern State (19-7)
Tuesday, May 8, 2018 | 6 p.m.
Surprise, Arizona
Surprise Racquet & Tennis Complex
 
Doubles
No. 1 – #10 Lena Lutzeier/Oceane Adam (HPU) def. #4 Maddy Coffman/Ashley Ramirez (MSU) 8-2
No. 2 – Lara Meccico/Barbora Kijasova (HPU) def. Bianca Duff/Greta Lazzarotto (MSU) 9-8 (8)
No. 3 – Daria Panferova/Maddie Rowe (MSU) def. Debora Echeverria/Leticia dos Santos (HPU) 9-8 (2)
 
Singles
No. 1 – #1 Lena Lutzeier (HPU) def. #19 Maddy Coffman (MSU) 6-0, 7-5
No. 2 – #3 Lara Meccico (HPU) def. #63 Bianca Duff (MSU) 6-1, 6-0
No. 3 – #64 Daria Panferova (MSU) def. #21 Oceane Adam (HPU) 6-2, 6-0
No. 4 – Ashley Ramirez (MSU) vs. Debora Echeverria (HPU) 6-1, 2-6, 0-1 unfinished
No. 5 – Greta Lazzarotto (MSU) vs. Leticia dos Santos (HPU) 6-4, 5-2 unfinished
No. 6 – Barbora Kijasova (HPU) def. Emilija Segetlija (MSU) 6-2, 6-1
 
Order of finish: Doubles (1, 2, 3); Singles (2, 3, 6, 1)