THE RUNDOWN
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – Midwestern State stretched the reigning national champs as far as they would go in Wednesday's national quarterfinal match. The Mustangs suffered a tightly-contested 4-1 setback to top-ranked Columbus State to close the season at 20-6.
 
The Maroon and Gold won 20 matches for the seventh time in program history and recorded back-to-back 20 win campaigns for the first time since 2000-01. The team won its second-straight Lone Star Conference Tournament title and advanced to the national quarterfinals for the sixth time, including the fifth trip in the last seven seasons.
 
MSU won the doubles point against the Cougars – something only four other teams have accomplished this season – and extended CSU to a third set on three courts in singles. Of the 13 sets played in singles, nine were decided by three games or fewer.
 
Senior Dillon Pineda saw his illustrious career come to an end, finishing ninth in team history with 115 career wins. The two-time Marie Morgan award winner and three-time LSC Sportsmanship Player of the Year ranks sixth with 68 victories in doubles.
 
The Mustangs won the doubles point in thrilling fashion to grab the momentum early against the Cougars. Juniors Denney Norrie and Angel Palacios took a 6-3 win against Matei Avram and Fabien Asdrubal at the No. 3 flight before sophomore Nolan McCaig and Pineda rattled off a 7-5 win in a tiebreaker against KP Pannu and Tommaso Schold to clinch the 1-0 lead.
 
Midwestern State's 24th-ranked pair of freshman Ben Westwick and sophomore Alberto Diaz stretched the nation's top-ranked doubles tandem of Alvaro Regalado and Zach Whaanga to the brink in a 6-4 showing at the No. 1 flight.
 
The momentum by the Mustangs was quickly halted in singles with CSU taking the first set on all six courts. Despite the slow start in singles, MSU fought back to force a third set on three courts.
 
The matchup of the nation's top two ranked singles players disappointingly went unfinished at the No. 1 flight. Palacios and Pannu, the national ITA Player to Watch and Senior Player of the Year, respectively, dueled to a split-sets decision before the match was decided.
 
Sophomore Alex Martinez Roca battled back from a first-set hole against 66th-ranked Asdrubal before leaving the match undecided and splitting 6-4 decisions.
 
Diaz extended 67th-ranked Avram to a third set at the No. 5 line but eventually suffered the match-deciding point, 6-1, 0-6, 6-3.
 
Pineda and McCaig dropped narrow decisions at the Nos. 3 & 4 flights. Pineda was bested by No. 25 Regalado (6-4, 6-3) while McCaig was topped by No. 54 Arnold Kokulewski (6-3, 6-4) to booked the first three points by CSU.
 
A day after punching MSU Texas' ticket into the Elite Eight, freshman Ben Westwick dropped his match to Tommaso Schold, 7-5, 6-1, at No. 6, to give the Cougars the lead.
 
The Maroon and Gold are set up for another strong run in the 2020 season as Scott Linn enters his 10th season with the program.
 
BOX SCORE
#1 Columbus State (27-2) def. #20 Midwestern State (20-6)
NCAA DII National Quarterfinals
Wednesday, May 22, 2019 | 3 p.m.
Altamonte Springs, Fla.
Sanlando Park Tennis Center
 
Doubles
No. 1 – #1 Zach Whaanga/Alvaro Regalado (CSU) def. #24 Ben Westwick/Alberto Diaz (MSU) 6-4
No. 2 – Dillon Pineda/Nolan McCaig (MSU) def. KP Pannu/Tommaso Schold (CSU) 7-6 (5)
No. 3 – Denney Norrie/Angel Palacios (MSU) def. Matei Avram/Fabien Asdrubal (CSU) 6-3
 
Singles
No. 1 – #2 Angel Palacios (MSU) vs. #1 KP Pannu (CSU) 3-6, 6-2, 3-5 unfinished
No. 2 – Alex Martinez Roca (MSU) vs. #66 Fabien Asdrubal (CSU) 4-6, 6-4, 0-1 unfinished
No. 3 – #25 Alvaro Regalado (CSU) def. Dillon Pineda (MSU) 6-4, 6-3
No. 4 – #54 Arnold Kokulewski (CSU) def. Nolan McCaig (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
No. 5 – #67 Matej Avram (CSU) def. Alberto Diaz (MSU) 6-1, 0-6, 6-3
No. 6 – Tommaso Schold (CSU) def. Ben Westwick (MSU) 7-5, 6-1
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 1, 2); Singles (3, 6, 4, 5)