No. 40 Midwestern State at St. Mary's

Friday, April 15 – 1 p.m.
Rohrbach Stadium Tennis Complex (San Antonio, Texas)
All-Time Series: MSU leads 18-1

No. 40 Midwestern State at No. 23 Southwestern

Saturday, April 16 – 11 a.m.
Marvin D. Henderson, Sr. Tennis Courts (Georgetown, Texas)
All-Time Series: MSU leads 1-0

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Midwestern State looks to stay undefeated in LSC play as they take on St. Mary's on Friday. The 40th-ranked Mustangs and the Rattlers battle in the penultimate Lone Star Conference match in San Antonio, Texas. StMU hosts MSU at Rohrbach Stadium Tennis Complex at 1 p.m.

Midwestern State faces Southwestern on Saturday in Georgetown, Texas. The Pirates and the Mustangs battle at 10 a.m.

ABOUT THE MUSTANGS

After splitting their weekend matches and drawing a win versus Cameron, the Mustangs are 12-6 on the season. The team is undefeated in Lone Star Conference play after its 5-2 defeat of No. 35 Cameron. MSU jumped to the 40th spot in last week's ITA national rankings. MSU is 3-2 when playing on the road this season.

Alex Martinez Roca ranks 16th in the nation in singles play with an 8-3 record from line one. The senior lost his first LSC match on Tuesday against No. 55 Tomas Almeida to move to a 4-1 record in conference play. His 67 career singles wins ties for third in MSU history. The Castelldefels, Spain, product's 112 combined wins are 11th in the program record books.

Martinez Roca and Ben Westwick rank second in the nation in doubles play. The duo has a 15-1 record, including a win over No. 9-ranked Francisco Oliveira and Santiago Kearney of Ouachita Baptist. Martinez Roca and Westwick's only drop was to Southern Arkansas on March 12. The pair won their last nine matches, including five LSC battles.

Westwick is 9-8 in singles play this season and won back-to-back matches this week. The junior is 4-2 at the Mustangs' third line and 3-1 at line four. Westwick is undefeated in his five Lone Star Conference matches.

Brice Bradshaw is 9-8 in all singles play this year, going 5-4 in the last ten matches. The sophomore has eight victories at line two. The Hoover, Ala. native has one win against a ranked opponent. He beat 60th-ranked Stipan Madzar of Southeastern Oklahoma State on March 23. Bradshaw teamed with Corbin Ford to win their last four matches at No. 2 doubles.

Marcal Miret Avante has a 12-3 record for the season with a 4-0 record at line four. The freshman is also undefeated at line five with two wins. He holds a 4-1 tally in the Lone Star Conference. Miret Avante and Stephen Slocombe are 8-7 for the year.

Charles Heffernan is 6-4 playing at line five while Stefan Andrei has a 7-0 record at No. 6. Andrei won his last seven matches, including four in LSC play. The freshman clinched MSU's matches against UT Tyler and Cameron, which led to his LSC Player of the Week accolade.

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. He guided 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 181-89 (.670) mark with seven NCAA Tournament appearances. The team advanced to the national quarterfinals in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2019 after a five-year absence from the postseason.

SCOUTING THE RATTLERS

St. Mary's is 14-3 for the season and has a 3-1 record in Lone Star Conference play. The Rattlers are tied for the second-most victories in a season in school history. StMU won their last two matches over UT Permian Basin and Western New Mexico. The team lost one match at home against No. 34 Cameron.

Chad Nguyen is 10-4 from singles line one, holding a 2-2 tally in LSC matches. The graduate student from College Station, Texas, fell to No. 46 Tomas Almeida of Cameron. He and Sebastian Azcui have two wins at doubles line three.

Jake Faryniarz is 7-4 at line two. The sophomore from San Antonio, Texas, is 2-2 in conference play. He holds an 8-6 record for the year. Faryniarz and Pablo Munoz Baroja are 5-3 at doubles line one. The duo has two wins at line two. Munoz Baroja is 3-3 at singles line three.

Niklas Knoerr won his last three matches. The freshman owns a 5-3 record at line four and is 3-1 in LSC matches. He and Nicolas Llosa are undefeated at doubles line one with five wins. The pair played their last seven matches at line two to find a 6-1 tally. Llosa won his last five singles battles. The sophomore is 5-1 at line six and 12-1 for the season.

Oskar Irdoja is 7-1 from line five and 13-2 in all singles play. The sophomore from Tallinn, Estonia, has five consecutive wins.

SCOUTING THE PIRATES

Southwestern has an 11-6 record for the 2022 season. The Pirates have yet to lose a match in April, taking their last five battles. The team ranks at No. 23 in the ITA's Division III National Team Rankings.

Hunter Bajoit is fourth in the ITA's West Region Singles Rankings. The senior has a 10-6 tally at line one. He and Jared Burton are 7-3 at doubles line two. The pair won the last three matches.

Vesko Lekovic is 3-11 at line two for the Pirates. The senior has one loss against a nationally-ranked opponent. Lekovic and Hemanshu Rambojun own a 4-6 record at doubles line one. They are 1-1 in conference play.

Anton Borovik is 6-7 at line three while Steven Tibbetts holds a 7-2 record at line four. Tibbetts won his last three matches to push to 11-5 for the season.

Oscar Roy has a 6-2 tally at line five. The freshman and Carlos Esteban collected a 7-4 record at doubles line three. The duo won three consecutive matches.

ABOUT THE SERIES

Midwestern State had 18 consecutive wins over St. Mary's until last year's loss to the Rattlers in the regional semifinals. No. 37 StMU defeated MSU 4-1 in Arlington, Texas, on May 10, 2021. The Mustangs won the first conference battle between the two teams. Midwestern State bested St. Mary's 4-3 on April 23, 2021. MSU is 2-0 when facing the Rattlers in San Antonio.

MSU and Southwestern competed in one match. The Mustangs beat the Pirates 8-1 in 1999. Saturday's match will be the second battle in Georgetown, Texas.

UP NEXT

Midwestern State faces Division I Baylor in the final non-conference match of the regular season. The Bearcats and the Mustangs face off at Hurd Tennis Center in Waco, Texas. The first serve is set for 2 p.m.