DURANT, Okla. -- In their first away win of the season, No. 45th-ranked Midwestern State destroyed Southeastern Oklahoma State at the Southeastern Tennis Complex on Wednesday. After dropping the doubles point, the Mustangs came back with five straight singles wins to claim the 5-2 score.
MSU push their victory run to four matches and gain an 8-5 record for the 2022 season.
The third-ranked duo of
Alex Martinez Roca and
Ben Westwick started the Mustangs on a strong note with their fourth consecutive victory at the No. 1 line. The pair recorded a 6-3 score over George Botha and Marin Jurkovic to find themselves at a 10-1 record this season. This is Martinez Roca's second year defeating the Storm pair as he fought off Botha and Jurkovic in last year's 4-0 win for MSU.
SOSU rebounded at the No. 3 spot as Marcus Del Rosario and Manuel Pilotto overtook
Marcal Miret Avante and
Stephen Slocombe. The Midwestern State team fell 3-6 in their second straight drop. They are 4-6 for the year.
The Storm grabbed the doubles point on Stipan Madzar and Thabo Ncube's 7-6 (7-5) defeat of
Brice Bradshaw and
Quentin Scharfenberg. The Mustang duo is 3-3 at the No. 2 position as they fall in back-to-back matches.
MSU recovered with Miret Avante picking up a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Gen Naraya at the No. 4 line. The freshman won three successive matches since his first loss on March 12. The Spaniard holds a 9-1 record this season.
Bradshaw followed with his fifth straight defeat at the No. 2 spot. The sophomore from Hoover, Ala., tallied a 6-1, 6-1 score over the 60th-ranked Madzar. Bradshaw moves to an 8-4 tally for the year, not dropping a battle since March 11.
Charles Heffernan moved to a 9-3 record with his 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) takedown of Ncube at the No. 5 line. The Australian junior clinched his fourth consecutive match and has four wins at the fifth spot.
Stefan Andrei overcame Del Rosario in three sets at the No. 6 position. The Romanian freshman outlasted on a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 score and found his fourth straight victory. Andrei moves above .500 with a 6-5 tally.
The No. 18th-ranked Martinez Roca beat the No. 47th-ranked Pilotto at the top line to claim his first match over a ranked opponent. The Spaniard junior posted a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 score to push his win streak to four matches. Martinez Roca is 5-1 for the year.
Southeastern Oklahoma State finished with the last point of the match. Botha defeated Westwick 6-4, 6-7 (7-4), 1-0 (10-5) at the No. 3 spot. Westwick cut his three-match run and secured a 5-7 record. The junior from Houston, Texas, is 3-2 at the third line.
Midwestern State returns to Lone Star Conference play later this week. The Mustangs face Western New Mexico in Silver City, N.M., on Friday March 25. First serve is set for 10 a.m. at WNMU Tennis Courts. MSU then turns to battle UT Permian Basin at Bush Tennis Center on Saturday, March 26. The Falcons and the Mustangs kick-off at 12 p.m. in Midland, Texas.
--MSUMustangs.com--
