THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – Battling the elements, Midwestern State stormed past UT Permian Basin 4-0 in the Lone Star Conference semifinals to set up a rematch with No. 13-ranked Cameron in tomorrow's finale. First serve is slated for 10 a.m. at the Waco Regional Tennis Center.
 
The Mustangs and Aggies meet in the finals of the postseason tournament for the third-straight season. MSU Texas won the title last season in a 5-4 marathon while CU took the crown in 2017.
 
Cameron stung the Maroon and Gold for a 5-2 loss in the regular season finale on April 25 in a tightly contested affair.
 
MSU took care of business in Friday's semifinal against UTPB. After dropping the doubles point in the first meeting of the season, the Mustangs raced out to a 1-0 lead with wins on the No. 3 and 2 courts, respectively.
 
The duo of Angel Palacios and Denney Norrie topped Marcos Silva and Juan Diego Ruiz, 6-2, to open the day before the tandem of Nolan McCaig and Dillon Pineda grabbed the point with a 6-2 win over Raul Stevens and Jordan Minjoot.
 
With the lead in hand, MSU continued to build momentum with first-set wins on four singles courts to remain in control.
 
Pineda downed Felipe Dias, 6-2, 6-0, at the No. 3 flight to push the lead to 2-0 to climb back to .500 on the year at 11-11.
 
Sophomore Alex Martinez Roca claimed his 12th-straight win, besting Silva, 6-1, 6-0, at No. 2. The Castelldefels, Spain, native matched the fifth-most single-season wins in school history to improve to 21-2 on the year.
 
Needing a win on one of the remaining four courts, sophomore Alberto Diaz secured the victory by trouncing Ruiz, 6-1, 6-3, at No. 5 to complete the sweep for the Mustangs.
 
McCaig narrowly missed capturing the clinching point. The sophomore led Enrique Sanchez 5-2 in the second set before the match was decided.
 
The Mustangs and Aggies meet for the 55th time on Saturday with MSU leading the all-time series 29-25. Since the 2011 season, MSU Texas owns an 8-7 edge while the teams have split each of the last 10 meetings.
 
BOX SCORE
#20 Midwestern State (17-5) def. UT Permian Basin (12-9)
Lone Star Conference Semifinals
Fri., May 3, 2019 | 12 p.m.
Waco, Texas
Waco Regional Tennis Center
 
Doubles
No. 1 – #24 Ben Westwick/Alberto Diaz (MSU) vs. Fernando Siqueira/Jorge Garcia (UTPB) 5-2 unfinished
No. 2 – Nolan McCaig/Dillon Pineda (MSU) def. Raul Stevens/Jordan Minjoot (UTPB) 6-2
No. 3 – Angel Palacios/Denney Norrie (MSU) def. Marcos Silva/Juan Diego Ruiz (UTPB) 6-2
 
Singles
No. 1 – #2 Angel Palacios (MSU) vs. #42 Raul Stevens (UTPB) 6-7, 1-2 unfinished
No. 2 – Alex Martinez Roca (MSU) def. Marcos Silva (UTPB) 6-2, 6-0
No. 3 – Dillon Pineda (MSU) def. Felipe Dias (UTPB) 6-1, 6-0
No. 4 – Nolan McCaig (MSU) vs. Enrique Sanchez (UTPB) 6-2, 5-2 unfinished
No. 5 – Alberto Diaz (MSU) def. Juan Diego Ruiz (UTPB) 6-1, 6-3
No. 6 – Ben Westwick (MSU) vs. Fernando Siqueira (UTPB) 3-6, 6-1 unfinished
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2); Singles (3, 2, 5)
 
BRACKET
Friday, May 3, 2019
No. 1 Cameron def. No. 4 Western New Mexico, 4-0
No. 2 Midwestern State def. No. 3 UT Permian Basin, 4-0
 
Saturday, May 4, 2019
No. 1 Cameron vs. No. 2 Midwestern State, 10 a.m.

UP NEXT
MSU meets Cameron in the finals at the LSC Postseason Tournament on Saturday, May 4, at the Waco Regional Tennis Center. First serve is set for 10 a.m.