THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – Scott Linn shook up the Midwestern State lineup in Wednesday's season opener at the Waco Tennis & Fitness Center, then the Mustangs shook off NJCAA fourth-ranked Laredo Community College.

No. 17-ranked MSU Texas used the newly minted duos to claim the doubles' point then earned a split in singles to win, 4-3.

"The guys did a good job responding to a shake up in the doubles' lineup," the ninth-year coach said. "We were able to execute immediately even though none of them had played together before."

Junior Angel Palacios partnered with freshman Quentin Scharfenberg for a 6-4 win over Laredo's Rodrigo Mere and Adrian Martinez on the No. 3 line before senior Dillon Pineda and freshman Ben Westwick cinched the point taking a 6-2 victory at No. 1 over Manuel Pilotto and Mauricio Grijalva.

Sophomores Alex Martinez-Roca and Nolan McCaig put Midwestern State on the brink of victory claiming the first two singles matches.

Martinez-Roca defeated Martinez -- 6-2, 6-2 -- at No. 5, while McCaig rolled to a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 2 over Alberto Mello.

Laredo cut the lead to 3-2 with wins at Nos. 4 and 2, respectively, as Juan David Ramirez beat Alberto Diaz (6-2, 3-6, 6-0) and Grijalva defeated Pineda (6-3, 7-5).

Palacios claimed a hard-fought, three-set win at No. 1 over Pilotto (4-6, 6-4, 6-2) to clinch the win.

The Mustangs start the year with a win for the eighth time during the Linn era with the only campaign opening setback coming at TCU in 2017.

Laredo dips to 2-1 following wins over St. Mary's and Our Lady of the Lake.
 
BOX SCORE
#17 Midwestern State (1-0) def. #4 Laredo CC (2-1)
Weds. Feb. 20, 2019 | 3 p.m.
Waco, Texas
Waco Regional Tennis & Fitness Center
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Dillon Pineda/Ben Westwick (MSU) def. #8 Manuel Pilotto/Maurico Grijalva (LCC) 6-2
No. 2 – #12 Juan David Ramirez/Alberto Mello (LCC) def. Denney Norrie/Alex Martinez Roca (MSU) 6-3
No. 3 – Quentin Scharfenberg/Angel Palacios (MSU) def. Rodrigo Mere/Adrian Martinez (LCC) 6-4
 
Singles
No. 1 – Angel Palacios (MSU) def. #32 Manuel Pilotto (LCC) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 – #17 Maurico Grijalva (LCC) def. Dillon Pineda (MSU) 6-3, 7-5
No. 3 – Nolan McCaig (MSU) def. Alberto Mello (LCC) 6-3, 6-4
No. 4 – #22 Juan David Ramirez (LCC) def. Alberto Diaz (MSU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-0
No. 5 – Alex Martinez Roca (MSU) def. #36 Adrian Martinez (LCC) 6-2, 6-2
No. 6 – #44 Rodrigo Mere (LCC) def. Ben Westwick (MSU) 6-4, 4-6, 7-6
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 1, 2); Singles (5, 3, 4, 2, 1, 6)
 
*LCC rankings reflect Oracle/ITA NJCAA poll

UP NEXT
Midwestern State plays host to St. Mary's (Texas) on Thursday, Feb. 28 at the MSU Tennis Center. First serve is at 1 p.m.