THE RUNDOWN
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Midwestern State picked up a pair of tiebreaker victories in doubles en-route to a 6-1 win over St. Mary's on Thursday at the MSU Tennis Center. The 17^th-ranked Mustangs remained unbeaten against the Rattlers, improving to 17-0 all-time.
 
MSU Texas improves to 2-0 on the season while the Rattlers drop to 2-4.
 
Scott Linn changed up the doubles lineup for the second-straight match as the Mustangs swept the doubles point behind a pair of tiebreaker wins at the Nos. 1 & 2 lines.
 
After the duo of Denney Norrie and Alex Martinez Roca fought off Alex Gee and Saisaurav Konakanchi, 7-5, at the No. 3 line, MSU Texas' top tandem of Dillon Pineda and Ben Westwick completed the upset of 14^th-ranked Jeremiah Gonzalez and Bojan Popovic with an 8-6 tiebreaker win at the No. 1 flight.
 
The Maroon and Gold completed the doubles sweep of the Rattlers as the pair of Angel Palacios and Nolan McCaig defeated Brendan Brown and Jose Antelo, 7-6 (6), at No. 2.
 
"We had a great finish in doubles," Linn said. "We showed good energy; good focus. We were able to keep the momentum for the next two hours of the match after taking the doubles point."
 
MSU Texas rode the momentum in singles, capturing straight-set wins on the first four courts to secure the win.
 
McCaig blasted Antelo, 6-1, 6-1, at the No. 3 line to push the MSU Texas advantage to 2-0 before Palacios upset No. 18 Gonzalez, 6-4, 6-1, at the No. 1 flight.
 
Pineda battled back from an early deficit to clinch the match for the Mustangs, 6-1, 6-3 against Popovic at the No. 2 line.
 
Martinez Roca pushed the lead to 5-0 in straight-sets, downing Gee, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 4.
 
Alberto Diaz stormed back after a first set deficit against Brown, 2-6, 6-2, 10-4, at the No. 5 line for his first career win.
 
The Rattlers got their lone win of the day as Luis Bonilla defeated Westwick, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 6.
 
"St. Mary's has played us tight the last few years," Linn added. "This is a good overall team win."
 
BOX SCORE
#17 Midwestern State (2-0) def. St. Mary's (2-4)
Thurs. Feb. 28, 2019 | 2 p.m.
Wichita Falls, Texas
MSU Tennis Center
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Dillon Pineda/Ben Westwick (MSU) def. #14 Jeremiah Gonzalez/Bojan Popovic (StMU) 7-6 (6)
No. 2 – Angel Palacios/Nolan McCaig (MSU) def. Brendan Brown/Jose Antelo (StMU) 7-6 (6)
No. 3 – Denney Norrie/Alex Martinez Roca (MSU) def. Alex Gee/Saisaurav Konakanchi (StMU) 7-5
 
Singles
No. 1 – Angel Palacios (MSU) def. #18 Jeremiah Gonzalez (StMU) 6-4, 6-1
No. 2 – Dillon Pineda (MSU) def. Bojan Popovic (StMU) 6-1, 6-3
No. 3 – Nolan McCaig (MSU) def. Jose Antelo (StMU) 6-1, 6-1
No. 4 – Alex Martinez Roca (MSU) def. Alex Gee (StMU) 6-4, 6-4
No. 5 – Alberto Diaz (MSU) def. Brendan Brown (StMU) 2-6, 6-2, 10-4
No. 6 – Luis Bonilla (StMU) def. Ben Westwick 6-4, 6-4
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 1, 2); Singles (3, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6)

UP NEXT
MSU Texas hosts Southeastern Oklahoma State on Friday, March 1, at the MSU Tennis Center. First serve is slated for 3 p.m.