THE RUNDOWN
ABILENE, Texas – Midwestern State pushed the 2019 Southland Conference regular season champion Abilene Christian to the limit on Tuesday at the Teague Events Center. The NCAA DI Wildcats ended the Mustangs' six-match winning streak, surviving MSU, 4-3.
 
The Maroon and Gold dropped to 16-4 on the season while ACU moved to 21-4.
 
The Mustangs take on Cameron Thursday in Lawton with the Lone Star Conference regular season championship on the line. First serve is set for 11 a.m.
 
Sophomore Alex Martinez Roca rolled to his 10th-straight win and improved to 19-2 on the season with a pair of tiebreaker wins over Nikolas Moceanu at the No. 3 flight. The Castelldefels, Spain, native claimed a 7-5 and 9-7 win in the respective breakers for his 40th career singles victory to even the match, 2-2.
 
Freshman Ben Westwick outlasted Sebastian Langdon in a pair of tiebreakers at the No. 6 flight for the second MSU singles win to close the match. The Houston native won 7-4, 7-5 in his breakers to finalize the score line, 4-3.
 
MSU raced out of the gates with their fifth-straight win in the doubles competition to take an early 1-0 lead in the match.
 
The pair of Angel Palacios and Denney Norrie rattled off their fourth-straight win at No. 3, topping Nikolas Moceanu and Riley Tran, 6-4, while the duo of Nolan McCaig and Dillon Pineda ousted Jackson Fine and Cole Lawson, 7-5, in a tiebreaker at No. 2 to clinch the point.
 
The top of ACU's lineup gave the Wildcats the lead early in singles. Josh Sheehy, the 115th-ranked player in DI, topped Palacios in straight sets – 6-2, 6-2 – before Jon Sheehy beat Pineda – 6-2, 6-3 – at No. 2.
 
Following Martinez Roca's win at No. 3, ACU clinched the match with consecutive victories at No. 4 & 5. McCaig suffered a pair of 6-4, 6-4 losses at No. 4 to Dimitris Azoides. Tran secured the Wildcats win in a super-set tiebreaker against Alberto Diaz – 10-5 – after splitting the first two sets, 6-3, 3-6.
 
BOX SCORE
Abilene Christian (21-4) def. #20 Midwestern State (16-4)
Tues. April 23, 2019 | 5 p.m.
Abilene, Texas
Teague Events Center
 
Doubles
No. 1 – #21 Ben Westwick/Alberto Diaz (MSU) vs. Jonathan Sheehy/Josh Sheehy (ACU) 5-5 unfinished
No. 2 – Nolan McCaig/Dillon Pineda (MSU) def. Jackson Fine/Cole Lawson (ACU) 7-6 (5)
No. 3 – Angel Palacios/Denney Norrie (MSU) def. Nikolas Moceanu/Riley Tran (ACU) 6-4
 
Singles
No. 1 – #115 Josh Sheehy (ACU) def. #2 Angel Palacios (MSU) 6-2, 6-2
No. 2 – Jon Sheehy (ACU) def. Dillon Pineda (MSU) 6-2, 6-3
No. 3 – Alex Martinez Roca (MSU) def. Nikolas Moceanu (ACU) 7-6 (5), 7-6 (7)
No. 4 – Dimitris Azoides (ACU) def. Nolan McCaig (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
No. 5 – Riley Tran (ACU) def. Alberto Diaz (MSU) 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (5)
No. 6 – Ben Westwick (MSU) def. Sebastian Langdon (ACU) 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5)
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2); Singles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

UP NEXT
MSU Texas meets Cameron for the Lone Star Conference regular season title on Thursday at 11 a.m. in Lawton.