No. 33 Midwestern State vs St. Mary's

Friday, April 29 – 1 p.m.
Arlington Tennis Center (Arlington, Texas)
All-Time Series: MSU leads 19-1

ARLINGTON, Texas – After winning the quarterfinal match, Midwestern State moves on to face St. Mary's in the semifinals. The 33rd-ranked Mustangs and the Rattlers battle on Friday, April 29. The first serve is set for 1 p.m. at Arlington Tennis Center.

LSC POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT

Midwestern State qualified for 20 conference tournaments since 1998. The team won five championships, including back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019. Last year's Lone Star Conference Tournament was canceled due to weather.

Thursday, April 28, 2022
Quarterfinal #1: No. 3 Cameron vs. No. 6 Western New Mexico, Noon
Quarterfinal #2: No. 2 UT Tyler vs. No. 7 UT Permian Basin, Noon
Quarterfinal #3: No. 1 Midwestern State vs. No. 8 Dallas Baptist, 3:30 p.m.
Quarterfinal #4: No. 4 St. Mary's vs. No. 5 Arkansas-Fort Smith, 3:30 p.m.

Friday, April 29, 2022
Semifinal #1: No. 3 Cameron vs No. 2 UT Tyler, 1 p.m.
Semifinal #2: No. 1 Midwestern State vs No. 4 St. Mary's, 1 p.m.

Saturday, April 30, 2022
Final: Semifinal winners, 1 p.m.

ABOUT THE MUSTANGS

Midwestern State concluded the season with a 15-7 record. The team finished the LSC regular season with an undefeated record. MSU clinched the conference championship last Saturday with its win over DBU. The Mustangs hold the 33rd spot in the ITA National Team Rankings. The team also took the first spot in the DII South Central Regional Rankings last week. MSU could host the regional matches if they maintain the top spot.

Alex Martinez Roca ranks 25th in the nation in singles play with a 10-5 record from line one. The senior lost one LSC match against No. 55 Tomas Almeida (Cameron) to hold a 6-1 record in conference play. His 69 career singles wins is third in MSU history. The Castelldefels, Spain, product's 129 combined wins are tied for sixth in the program record books.

Martinez Roca and Ben Westwick rank second in the nation in doubles play. The duo has an 18-2 record. They beat two other ranked teams including No. 9-ranked Francisco Oliveira and Santiago Kearney (Ouachita Baptist) and No. 47 Gonzalo Fernandez and Moritz Mayer (UT Tyler). Martinez Roca and Westwick's two losses were to Southern Arkansas and Baylor University. The pair won seven LSC battles.

Westwick is 12-9 in singles play this season. The junior is 7-3 at the Mustangs' third line and 3-1 at line four. Westwick is the only Mustang undefeated in all seven Lone Star Conference matches.

Brice Bradshaw is 12-10 in all singles play this year. The sophomore has ten 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 post a 7-3 record in doubles play. The duo has six wins in LSC play.

Marcal Miret Avante has a 15-4 record in his first collegiate season. He has a 7-1 record at line four. The freshman is undefeated at line five with two wins. He holds a 6-1 tally in the Lone Star Conference, winning his last four matches.

Quentin Scharfenberg and Stephen Slocombe recently paired up to play at No. 3 doubles. The duo won three matches, including the battle against Ethan Muza and Christopher Frantzen of Baylor.

Charles Heffernan is 10-5 playing at line five while Stefan Andrei has an 9-2 record at No. 6. Heffernan has a 3-3 Lone Star Conference record. Andrei clinched MSU's matches against UT Tyler and Cameron to gain the LSC Player of the Week accolade on April 13.

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 185-90 (.673) 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 17-5 for the season and finished with a 4-3 record in Lone Star Conference play. This is the Rattlers first LSC Tournament appearance since joining the conference in 2019.
 
Chad Nguyen is 12-7 from singles line one, including a loss to Martinez Roca on April 15. The graduate student from College Station, Texas, was named to the LSC Sportsmanship team. He and Sebastian Azcui have two wins at doubles line three.
 
Jake Faryniarz is 9-6 at line two. The sophomore from San Antonio, Texas, fell to Bradshaw in the last head-to-head. He holds an 11-8 record for the year. Faryniarz and Pablo Munoz Baroja are 8-5 at doubles line one. The duo has two wins at line two and was LSC honorable mention.
 
Munoz Baroja is 5-4 at singles line three. He dropped to Westwick on April 15.
 
Niklas Knoerr was an LSC honorable mention in singles and doubles. The freshman owns a 6-5 record at line four, which includes a three-set drop to Miret Avante. He and Nicolas Llosa are undefeated at doubles line one with five wins. The pair played their last 11 matches at line two to find an 8-2 tally.
 
Llosa won his last five singles battles. The sophomore is 7-1 at line six and 15-2 for the season. He grabbed honorable mention in singles and doubles for the LSC. Llosa also notched the Rattlers' only point in the 6-1 fall to MSU. He beat Andrei in straight sets.
 
Oskar Irdoja is 9-2 from line five and 16-4 in all singles play. The sophomore from Tallinn, Estonia, was named to the LSC Second-Team in singles. Heffernan defeated Irodoja on April 15.

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 6-1 earlier this season (April 15).

UP NEXT

With a win, Midwestern State moves on to the final round of the tournament. The team would face the winner of No. 3 Cameron vs No. 2 UT Tyler. The championship match is on Saturday, April 30, at 1 p.m.