No. 45 Midwestern State at Western New Mexico

Friday, March 25 – 12 p.m.
WNMU Tennis Courts (Silver City, N.M.)
All-Time Series: MSU leads 5-0

No. 45 Midwestern State at UT Permian Basin

Saturday, March 26 – 12 p.m.
Bush Tennis Center (Midland, Texas)
All-Time Series: MSU leads 8-1

SILVER CITY, N.M. – Midwestern State searches for rebound wins this weekend against Western New Mexico and UT Permian Basin. MSU faces WNM on Friday, March 25 at noon in Silver City, N.M.

The Falcons then host the Mustangs on Saturday, March 26, at Bush Tennis Center. First serve is set for noon.

ABOUT THE MUSTANGS

Midwestern State's 11-match streak ended on Wednesday against No. 42 Southeastern Oklahoma State. However, the 21st-ranked Mustangs still control a 13-4 record for the 2022 season. Their only other 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 Lone Star Conference play after defeating UAFS on March 18.

Anda Ghinga ranks 30th in the nation and holds an 11-5 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 35th and hold an undefeated 12-0 record at No. 1 doubles. Ghinga is 14-3 in all doubles play while Yip is 15-2. Yip bears a 9-8 singles tally from the second line. 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 an 11-0 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 eight 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 six matches.

Visic and Casie Curry have a 10-1 record with an eight-match win stretch at the second doubles line. The pair rocketed to a 21st ranking in the ITA list, previously held at 43. Visic is 12-4 in all doubles play while Curry claims a 12-2 record.

Curry is 11-3 in singles and 9-2 from the fourth position for the Mustangs. She has eight straight wins playing at the third and fourth spots, starting on March 11. The junior has two three-set victories, including her 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 takedown of Elizaveta Tregubova in Wednesday's match at No. 25 SOSU.

Ethne Dowling is 6-6 with a 5-4 record at the third spot. The junior currently rides a three-match slide.

Skylar Minns holds a 10-5 record and is 7-5 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 12-4 from the third doubles line. They have won their last eight 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 197-85 (.699) 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 MUSTANGS

Western New Mexico has a 5-6 record, going 2-0 at home. The Mustangs defeated New Mexico Military Institute 6-1 and Sul Ross State 7-0 to maintain their perfect home tally. WNM dropped their last three matches, falling to Colorado College, MSU-Denver and Seward County.

Livia Leite leads Western New Mexico from the top singles line. The Brazilian freshman has a 6-3 record at No. 1 while going 7-4 in all singles play. She dropped the last three matches. On Feb. 11, Leite fell to No. 14 South Central ranked Makenna Livingston in three sets. She partners with junior Kajsa Gedlitschka to post a 3-4 tally at the No. 2 doubles position. Gedlitschka is 4-5 from the second and third spots on the singles side.

Caini Wang holds a 4-2 tally at the fourth line, falling in her last two battles. The freshman from Taiwan and Nicold Gonzalez Suancha post a 5-3 doubles record. The duo is 3-3 at the third position. Gonzalez Suancha is 3-2 at No. 6 singles.
Juniors Julia Terrazas and Massiel Paredes are 3-7 at the top doubles spot this season. Paredes is 3-3 in all singles battles with a 1-2 tally at No. 5. Terrazas has a 2-4 record playing at the middle four spots.

SCOUTING THE FALCONS

UT Permian Basin is 6-10 for the season with a 1-1 home record. The Falcons dropped 0-7 to Air Force on Feb. 12 and found a victory against University of the Southwest later that day. UTPB has yet to find a Lone Star Conference win as they dropped to Angelo State 1-6 and Texas A&M-Kingsville 0-7. The team fell in their last two matches to New Mexico State and Texas-El Paso (UTEP).

Teodora Vrucan is the only Falcon to register four singles wins this season. The freshman is 4-4 at the No. 1 spot with two three-set wins in her run. The Bosnian and freshman Brooke Runyan are 3-3 at the second doubles line. Runyan is 1-2 from the fifth spot and 3-3 in all singles play.

Freshman Lore Mewis tallied a 3-3 record at the second position and is 3-5 overall. She partners with junior Lisa Guitton to post a 2-3 tally at the No. 1 spot. Guitton has a 1-2 record from the third singles line.

Sophomore Krystal Smith controls a 1-4 record at the No. 4 position and is 2-0 at No. 3.

ABOUT THE SERIES

Midwestern State is undefeated against Western New Mexico, taking all five matches. MSU holds a 4-0 conference record against the Mustangs with the last victory in 2021. The Mustangs outlasted WNM 6-1 at home. Midwestern State has two wins in Silver City, N.M. – 2017 and 2019.

After dropping the opening match of the series in 1987, MSU registered eight straight victories over UTPB. The Mustangs are 4-0 in LSC play and 3-0 on the road versus the Falcons. Midwestern State's last win over UT Permian Basin saw a 7-0 score in 2021 in Wichita Falls, Texas.

UP NEXT

Midwestern State continues play in the Lone Star Conference on the road. The Mustangs take on Texas A&M-Kingsville on Friday, April 1. No. 29 Angelo State hosts MSU the next day on Saturday, April 2.