No. 45 Midwestern State at Southeastern Oklahoma State

Wednesday, March 23 – 2 p.m.
Southeastern Tennis Complex (Durant, Okla.)
All-Time Series: MSU leads 35-4

WICHITA FALLS, Texas – 45th-ranked Midwestern State travels to Durant, Okla., this week for a non-conference slate against Southeastern Oklahoma State. The Mustangs and the Storm battle on Wednesday, March 23, in Durant, Okla. First serve is set for 2 p.m. at the Southeastern Tennis Complex.

ABOUT THE MUSTANGS

The Mustangs are 7-5 on the season and entered the top 50 rankings of the ITA. MSU sits at No. 45 on the list as they maintain a three-match win streak. The team is undefeated in conference play after they beat out UAFS last Friday. The Mustangs have yet to claim a road match, falling to No. 8 Ouachita Baptist and No. 11 Southern Arkansas on March 11 and 12.

Alex Martinez Roca ranks 18th in the nation and holds a 4-1 record from the top line. After falling to Takeshi Taco of Cowley County on March 2, the senior recorded three straight victories. The Spaniard is 1-0 in LSC play after posting a victory against UAFS. He owns 63 career singles wins to rank sixth in program history.

Martinez Roca and Ben Westwick rank third in the nation in doubles play. The duo has a 9-1 record with their drop coming at the hands of No.11 Southern Arkansas. The Mustang pair rebounded with three victories after the loss on March 12. Martinez Roca is 9-1 in all doubles competitions while Westwick is 9-3.

Westwick is 5-6 for the season in singles play. The junior is 3-1 at the No. 3 spot for MSU, claiming three straight wins last week against Emporia State, Hastings and UAFS. The Houston, Texas, product is 0-2 versus nationally ranked opponents.

Brice Bradshaw is 7-4 on the singles side, winning the past four match-ups. The sophomore is 6-3 from the second spot and 1-0 at the No. 1 position. Hoover, Ala., native fell to one nationally ranked opponent in his 11-match season. He and Quentin Scharfenberg own a 3-2 record at the second line, their latest loss coming at the hands of Arkansas-Fort Smith.

Marcal Miret Avante dropped for the first time to No. 6 ranked Marko Nikolluk of Southern Arkansas on March 12. The freshman still leads the team with an 8-1 tally on the year. He is 4-1 playing at the third position for the Mustangs and remains undefeated at the fourth and fifth lines with 2-0 records at both. The Spaniard won four matches in three-sets this season. He and Stephen Slocombe own a 4-5 tally at No. 3 doubles.

Charles Heffernan suffered his first singles loss to Taiyo Hirano of Cowley County on March 2 and later fell in the No. 8 Ouachita Baptist and No. 11 Southern Arkansas. The junior is 8-3 overall and rides a three-match streak. The Australian holds a 3-1 tally at the No. 4 spot and a 4-1 record at the No. 5 position.

Stefan Andrei is 5-5 while playing from five of the six singles lines. The freshman is 0-5 at No. 4 but holds a 1-0 tally at the second, third and fifth spots. He is on a two-match streak at the No. 6 position. The Romanian is undefeated in LSC play.

AT THE HELM

Scott Linn enters his 12th season at the helm of the Midwestern State men's and women's tennis programs in 2021-22 after guiding the Mustangs to 17 NCAA Tournament appearances since arriving in Wichita Falls in the fall of 2010. The Mustangs have thrived under Linn's leadership as he revived the program to the highest level. Under Linn, the men's program posted a 176-88 (.667) mark with seven NCAA Tournament appearances while advancing to the national quarterfinals in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2019 after a five-year absence from the postseason.

SCOUTING THE SAVAGE STORM

Southeastern Oklahoma State is 6-4 for the season with an undefeated 4-0 home record. The Storm has played four LSC teams with wins against UT Permian Basin and Dallas Baptist. SOSU dropped to No. 20 UT Tyler and Cameron on Feb. 19 and March 3. The Savage Storm and the Mustangs have five mutual opponents this season. Both teams lost to No. 22 Washburn and swept Emporia State, Hastings and Oklahoma Wesleyan 7-0. MSU beat Southwest Baptist 4-3 on March 4 and SOSU fell 0-4 to the Bearcats.

Guilherme Dos Santos leads Southeastern Oklahoma State with a No. 12 rank in the ITA National Singles Rankings. The senior is 6-1 on the season in singles play. He and Marin Jurkovic spot at No. 7 on the doubles side. The duo owns an 8-3 tally this season.

Manuel Pilotto holds the No. 47 spot on the ITA's list. The senior Argentinian is 7-5 this season.

Stipan Madzar ranks 60th in the nation for singles play. The sophomore from Split, Croatia, has a 3-4 tally for the year.

ABOUT THE SERIES

Midwestern State is 35-4 against Southeastern Oklahoma State, with the series beginning in 1979. The two teams are former conference foes with MSU taking a 20-0 advantage over SEOU while they were a member of the Lone Star Conference. The Mustangs are 14-2 when playing on the road versus the Storm, with the last victory coming in 2018 against the No. 31 Storm. Midwestern State dropped their 2020 match-up in Durant by 3-4, but rebounded last season with a 4-0 victory over No. 18 Southeastern Oklahoma in Wichita Falls.

UP NEXT

Midwestern State resumes Lone Star Conference play on the road later this week. MSU travels to Silver City, N.M., to face Western New Mexico on Friday, March 25. The Mustangs battle at the WNMU Tennis Courts at 10 a.m.