THE RUNDOWN
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – In a match that featured five three-set finishes in singles, No. 32 St. Edward's outlasted 18th-ranked Midwestern State, 4-3, on Friday afternoon at the MSU Tennis Center.
 
Second-ranked Angel Palacios was unable to maintain a 3-0 lead in the third set of the last match standing in the Hilltoppers' clinching point. SEU's 40th-ranked Anish Sriniketh upset the junior, 6-7, 7-5, 6-4, to snap an eight-match slide to the Mustangs dating back to the 2013 season.
 
Sophomore Jean Muniz and senior Denney Norrie collected a pair of match-tying three-set wins at the Nos. 5 & 6 flights to pull the Maroon and Gold even at 2-2 and 3-3, respectively.
 
Muniz erased a first-set deficit to Luis Buignet at the No. 5 line, 3-6, 6-5, 6-4, to close the gap to 3-2. Norrie claimed an intense third set against Nico Mercado, 7-5, after splitting the first two frames to force the action to the No. 1 flight.
 
Sophomore Alex Martinez Roca produced the lone straight-sets match of the day in the first singles court off to put MSU Texas on the board. The 71st-ranked Castelldefels, Spain, native topped Gabriel Zuniga, 6-1, 6-4, at the No. 3 flight for his team-leading 12th win of the season.
 
The Hilltoppers captured the momentum early with a pair of wins in doubles to claim a 1-0 advantage. The Mustangs No. 2 flight of Dillon Pineda and Nolan McCaig suffered a 6-4 loss to Zac Robinson and Nico Mercado before the tandem of Palacios and Norrie bested Mateus de Col and Luis Diaz, 6-4, at No. 3.
 
MSU Texas' fifth-ranked pair of Ben Westwick and Diaz were upset by 27th-ranked Chase Bartlett and Sriniketh, 6-3, at the No. 1 line to give SEU the point.
 
BOX SCORE
#32 St. Edward's (12-5) def. #18 Midwestern State (10-3)
Fri. March 29, 2019 | 12 p.m.
Wichita Falls, Texas
MSU Tennis Center
 
Doubles
No. 1 – #27 Chase Bartlett/Anish Sriniketh (SEU) def. #5 Ben Westwick/Alberto Diaz (MSU) 6-3
No. 2 – Zac Robinson/Nico Mercado (SEU) def. Nolan McCaig/Dillon Pineda (MSU) 6-4
No. 3 – Angel Palacios/Denney Norrie (MSU) def. Mateus de Col/Luis Diaz (SEU) 6-4
 
Singles
No. 1 – #40 Anish Sriniketh (SEU) def. #2 Angel Palacios (MSU) 6-7, 7-5, 6-4
No. 2 – #48 Luis Diaz (SEU) def. Dillon Pineda (MSU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
No. 3 – #71 Alex Martinez Roca (MSU) def. Gabriel Zuniga (SEU) 6-1, 6-4
No. 4 – #24 Chase Bartlett (SEU) def. #63 Alberto Diaz (MSU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-1
No. 5 – Jean Muniz (MSU) def. Luis Buignet (SEU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
No. 6 – Denney Norrie (MSU) def. Nico Mercado (SEU) 6-2, 3-6, 7-5
 
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 3, 1); Singles (3, 2, 5, 4, 6, 1)

UP NEXT
MSU Texas returns to the MSU Tennis Center tomorrow against Arkansas-Fort Smith. First serve is slated for 10 a.m.