THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – No. 2-seeded Midwestern State weathered a near 24-hour delay following doubles to finish off a sweep of UT Permian Basin in the quarterfinals of the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament, then knocked off Texas A&M-Kingsville to advance to the finals for the seventh straight season.
 
MSU faces off with No. 34-ranked Tarleton State for the league crown at 2 p.m. tomorrow afternoon at the Waco Regional Tennis Center. The Mustangs defeated the TexAnns in previous final meetings in 2014 and 2017.
 
The Maroon and Gold picked up their 12th-straight win over the TexAnns earlier this season at the MSU Tennis Center.
 
Needing two wins on Thursday to move to the title match, the Mustangs handled UT Permian Basin in the quarterfinals, 4-0.
 
After taking a 1-0 lead in doubles yesterday, Waco was hit by a round of storms leaving the courts in unplayable condition. The 10th-ranked tandem of Ashley Ramirez and Bianca Duff blanked Maria Briones and Stephanie Prats, 6-0, at the No. 1 line while the pair of Greta Lazzarotto and Casie Curry clinched the lead with a 6-3 win over Amelie Saint-Dizier and Madison Hoelting at No. 2.
 
Following a near 20-hour delay, MSU Texas wasted no time in singles. The Mustangs swept all six first sets before quickly finishing off the Falcons in the day's first contest.
 
Duff downed Gonzalez, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 1 before 62nd-ranked Curry won her 10^th-straight to move to 17-1 behind a 6-2, 6-3 win over Obreque at No. 6.
 
Lazzarotto closed out the win by toppling Hoelting, 6-3, 6-2, at the No. 2 flight.
 
With the first win under their belts, the Mustangs turned their attention to the 27th-ranked Javelinas in the semifinals.
 
Much like the first meeting this season, MSU Texas managed to put TAMUK away early to squash any hopes of an upset.
 
MSU took command with a pair of doubles victories to grab the early lead. Duff and Ramirez fought off 45th-ranked Lisa Carvajal and Maya Donkor, 7-5, at the top flight. Later the duo of Lea Cizeron and Taylor Gray rolled Loren Tristan and Valerie Ruiz, 6-3, at the No. 3 flight to secure the point.
 
Leading 1-0, both sides exchanged wins in the first set in singles.
 
Ramirez stretched the lead to 2-0 with her 97^th career win. The Scottsdale, Ariz., native cruised by Ruiz, 6-3, 6-0, at No. 5 to end a three-match skid.
 
Duff fell to Carvajal at the No. 1 flight for the first loss of the day by the Mustangs. Despite winning a three-set thriller against her earlier this year, the Geelong, Australia, native succumbed to Carvajal in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3, to cut the score to 2-1.
 
The only player to earn singles wins in both matches of the day, 66th-ranked Lazzarotto regained a two-point edge for the Mustangs, trouncing Phonephathep Philavong, 6-3, 6-4, at No. 2 to put MSU Texas within a point of clinching.
 
Cizeron sent the Maroon and Gold to the finals for the seventh-straight season. The Saint Etienne, France, native downed Laura Montalvo 7-5, 6-1 at No. 3.
 
BOX SCORE
#14 Midwestern State (18-6) def. UT Permian Basin (7-17)
Lone Star Conference Quarterfinals
Thurs., May 2, 2019 | 2 p.m.
Waco, Texas
Waco Regional Tennis Center
 
Doubles
No. 1 – #10 Ashley Ramirez/Bianca Duff (MSU) def. Maria Briones/Stephanie Prats (UTPB) 6-0
No. 2 – Greta Lazzarotto/Casie Curry (MSU) def. Amelie Saint-Dizier/Madison Hoelting (UTPB) 6-3
No. 3 – Lea Cizeron/Taylor Gray (MSU) vs. Melissa Ariza Gonzalez/Jessica Madamba (UTPB) 4-4 unfinished
 
Singles
No. 1 – Bianca Duff (MSU) def. Melissa Ariza Gonzalez (UTPB) 6-2, 6-1
No. 2 – #66 Greta Lazzarotto (MSU) def. Madison Hoelting (UTPB) 6-3, 6-2
No. 3 – Lea Cizeron (MSU) vs. Amelie Saint-Dizier (UTPB) 7-6, 1-3 unfinished
No. 4 – Juliette Mary (MSU) vs. Maria Briones (UTPB) 7-5, 5-1 unfinished
No. 5 – Ashley Ramirez (MSU) vs. Julia Ramlho (UTPB) 6-1, 4-6 unfinished
No. 6 – #62 Casie Curry (MSU) def. Paulina Obreque (UTPB) 6-2, 6-3

Order of finish: Doubles (1, 2); Singles (1, 6, 2)
 
BOX SCORE
#14 Midwestern State (19-6) def. #27 Texas A&M-Kingsville (12-8)
Lone Star Conference Semifinals
Fri., May 3, 2019 | 4 p.m.
Waco, Texas
Waco Regional Tennis Center
 
Doubles
No. 1 – #10 Ashley Ramirez/Bianca Duff (MSU) def. #45 Lisa Carvajal/ Maya Donkor (TAMUK) 7-5
No. 2 – Greta Lazzarotto/Casie Curry (MSU) vs. Victoria Romanovskaia/ Phonephathep Philavong (TAMUK) 5-5 unfinished
No. 3 – Lea Cizeron/Taylor Gray (MSU) def. Loren Tristan/Valerie Ruiz (TAMUK) 6-3
 
Singles
No. 1 – Lisa Carvajal (TAMUK) def. Bianca Duff (MSU) 6-1, 6-3
No. 2 – #66 Greta Lazzarotto (MSU) def. Phonephathep Philavong (TAMUK) 6-3, 6-4
No. 3 – Lea Cizeron (MSU) def. Laura Montalvo (TAMUK) 7-5, 6-1
No. 4 – Juliette Mary (MSU) vs. Victoria Romanovskaia (TAMUK) 3-6, 5-5 unfinished
No. 5 – Ashley Ramirez (MSU) def. Valerie Ruiz (TAMUK) 6-3, 6-0
No. 6 – #62 Casie Curry (MSU) vs. Julia Rauer (TAMUK) 2-6, 6-1, 1-2 unfinished
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2); Singles (5, 1, 2, 3)
 
BRACKET
Thursday, May 2, 2019
No. 2 Midwestern State vs. No. 7 UT Permian Basin, 4-0
No. 3 Texas A&M-Kingsville def. No. 6 Western New Mexico, 4-0
No. 5 Tarleton State def. No. 4 Cameron, 4-1
 
Friday, May 3, 2019
No. 5 Tarleton State def. No. 1 Angelo State, 4-2
No. 2 Midwestern State def. No. 3 Texas A&M-Kingsville, 4-1
 
Saturday, May 4, 2019
No. 2 Midwestern State vs. No. 5 Tarleton State, 2 p.m.

UP NEXT
MSU faces off with No. 34-ranked Tarleton State for the league crown at 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon at the Waco Regional Tennis Center.