No. 38 Midwestern State at No. 25 Southeastern Oklahoma State

Wednesday, March 23 – 2 p.m.
Southeastern Tennis Complex (Durant, Okla.)
All-Time Series: MSU leads 3-1
 
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – No. 38 Midwestern State enters into a tough battle in Durant, Okla., this week. The Mustangs face No. 25 Southeastern Oklahoma State on Wednesday, March 23. The non-conference slate kicks-off at 2 p.m. at Southeastern Tennis Complex.

ABOUT THE MUSTANGS

Midwestern State's 11-match streak ties the run made in 2017. The Mustangs went 23-5 on the year and 11-0 at home. The longest win streak since 2000 happened in 2014 when team clinched 13 straight. The Mustangs tallied a 23-4 overall record that year, going 7-0 on the road.

MSU is 13-3 this season to rank 38th in the ITA National Rankings. They are 10-2 at home and 2-1 in away matches. Their only losses were to top-rated junior colleges Seward County and Tyler Junior College, and No. 2 ranked Central Oklahoma. The Mustangs are one of four undefeated teams in the Lone Star Conference.

Anda Ghinga ranks 42nd in the nation and holds an 11-4 singles record. The sophomore earned Lone Star Conference Player of the Week on March 9 after defeating No. 17 Diana Cabrera (SBU) and No. 48 Marta Torres (Washburn). She is 2-1 versus all national-ranked opponents. After dropping to No. 23 Mireia Turro (Montevallo) on March 12, Ghinga won four straight battles. The Romanian claimed her first LSC victory in the match against UAFS on March 18.

She and Hannah Yip rank 40th and hold an undefeated 11-0 record at No. 1 doubles. Ghinga is 13-3 in all doubles play while Yip is 14-2. Yip bears a 9-7 singles tally from the second line and holds the 73rd spot in the ITA Singles Rankings. The Malaysian clinched her first Lone Star Conference battle with a 7-5, 6-2 defeat of Joanna Potet of Arkansas-Fort Smith.

Emilija Visic is undefeated in singles play with a 10-0 record. The sophomore earned her first LSC Player of the Week honor after going 10-0 in doubles and singles play from March 9 to 16. Visic has seven wins at the No. 5 position and has two at the No. 4 spot. She secured her only No. 3 victory against McMurry on Jan. 28. The Phoenix, Ariz., resident played at the fifth line for the past five matches.

Visic and Casie Curry have a 10-1 record with an eight-match win stretch at the second doubles line. The pair has a 43rd ranking in the ITA list, previously held at 31. Visic is 12-4 in all doubles play while Curry claims a 12-2 record.

Curry is 10-3 in singles and 8-2 from the fourth position for the Mustangs. She has seven straight wins playing at the third and fourth spots, starting on March 11. In her only three-set victory of the season, the junior defeated No. 63 ranked Grace Chadick of No. 2 Central Oklahoma on Feb. 19.

Ethne Dowling is 6-5 with a 5-3 record at the third spot. The junior is 3-2 in the last five matches, dropping against No. 15 Nebraska-Kearney and UAFS.

Skylar Minns holds a 10-4 record and is 7-4 at No. 6. She played for the first time at the fourth spot on March 15 and tallied a win against Hastings. The sophomore is 2-0 at the fifth line, claiming back-to-back victories versus Northeastern State and Ouachita Baptist on March 5 and 11. She and Sydney Williams are 11-4 from the third doubles line. They have won their last seven matches with their last drop coming on March 5.

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. Linn has directed the women's program to a 197-84 (.701) in his eleven seasons on campus with nine NCAA Division II postseason appearances, reaching the round of 16 in 2013, 2014, 2018 and 2019 while making trips to the NCAA quarterfinals in 2015 and 2017.

SCOUTING THE SAVAGE STORM

Southeastern Oklahoma State ranks 22ndd in the ITA National Team Rankings after posting an 8-3 record. At home, SOSU is 4-2. The Storm collected victories over three LSC teams in early February, including UT Permian Basin, Dallas Baptist and UT Tyler. SOSU dropped to No. 20 Angelo State and Cameron. Their biggest win of the season was against Division I Missouri State on March 9.

The Storm has similar results to common opponents in No. 17 Washburn, No. 3 Central Oklahoma, Emporia State and Hastings. Southeastern Oklahoma dropped to UCO by a 0-7 score as MSU fell to the Broncos by 2-5. SOSU beat ESU 5-2 and the Mustangs overcame the Hornets 6-1. Both teams defeated Washburn by 4-3 and Hastings by a 7-0 score.

Chiara Matteodo was named Great American Conference Player of the Week on Feb. 24. The sophomore from Saluzzo, Italy, posted two singles and two doubles wins in the Storm's victories over DBU and UTT. She plays at the No. 4 singles and No. 3 doubles spots.

Skye Royall also claimed GAC Player of the Week honors on March 16. The freshman from Safety Bay, Australia, tallied a 4-1 singles record and 3-2 doubles tally in the Savage Storm's 4-1 week. She plays at the top singles and doubles line.

Senior Vanessa Cozamanis and freshman Sara Gonzalez take the 46thh spot in the ITA National Doubles Rankings. The duo complied a 4-1 record.

ABOUT THE SERIES

Midwestern State and Southeastern Oklahoma State have met four times since the series started in 1995. The Storm took the opening match by a 7-2 score. In 1996 and 1998, MSU clinched three straight victories against SOSU. All four matches were at a neutral venue, held in Fort Sill, Okla.

UP NEXT

Midwestern State jumps back into their Lone Star Conference schedule starting on Friday, March 25. The Mustangs head to Silver City, N.M., to take on Western New Mexico. First serve is set for 12 p.m. at the WNMU Tennis Courts.