No. 33 Midwestern State vs No. 39 UT Tyler

Saturday, April 30 – 1 p.m.
Arlington Tennis Center (Arlington, Texas)
All-Time Series: MSU leads 6-2

ARLINGTON, Texas – Midwestern State faces UT Tyler in its 11th conference championship appearance on Saturday, April 30. The 33rd-ranked Mustangs search for their sixth Lone Star Conference finals victory after winning in 2018 and 2019. The 39th-ranked Patriots and MSU battle it out at 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: No. 1 Midwestern State vs No. 2 UT Tyler, 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 an 11-5 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 70 career singles wins are third in MSU history. The Castelldefels, Spain, product's 130 combined wins are sixth in the program record books.

Martinez Roca and Ben Westwick rank fourth in the nation in doubles play. The duo has a 19-2 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. Both matches went unfinished versus DBU and St. Mary's.

Brice Bradshaw is 12-10 in all singles play this year. The sophomore has 11 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 an 8-3 record in doubles play. The duo won both matches in the postseason

Marcal Miret Avante has a 16-4 record in his first collegiate season. He has an 8-1 record at line four, with his only loss coming at the hands of Moritz Mayer (UT Tyler). The freshman is undefeated at line five with two wins. He won his last two competitions and clinched the win against St. Mary's.

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 11-5 playing at line five while Stefan Andrei has a 9-2 record at No. 6. Heffernan won both matches in the tournament to help MSU advance to the finals. Andrei clinched MSU's regular-season 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 186-90 (.674) 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 PATRIOTS

UT Tyler concluded the regular season with a 12-8 record. The Patriots only conference loss was to MSU on April 10. The team finished second in the Lone Star Conference standings. UTT won the last three matches, including a quarterfinal win over UTPB and a semifinal victory against Cameron. UT Tyler is 39th in the ITA National Team Rankings. This is the Patriots' first LSC final appearance as it's their first year of eligibility.
 
Gonzalo Fernandez holds the 32nd ranking in the ITA's singles listing. The junior from Majadahonda, Spain, played the two matches of the LSC tournament at line one. He is 1-5 from No. 1 singles and 10-2 at line two. Gonzalo and Moritz Mayer hold the 45th-rank on the doubles side. The pair lost both matches thus far in the postseason.
 
Mayer clinched the match against Cameron to send the Patriots to the finals. The freshman is 8-2 at line three, including a win versus Miret Avante on April 10. Mayer won back-to-back matches in the tournament.
 
Joaquin Bianchi follows Gonzalo at No. 60 in the singles rankings. The junior holds a 3-3 record at line two for the Patriots after his victory on Friday versus UTPB. Bianchi fell to Martinez Roca in straight sets in the last match versus MSU. He and Egor Shestakov won their last three matches at No. 2 doubles.
 
Shestakov is No. 66 in the ITA rankings. The sophomore is 3-7 for the season, playing primarily at line five for UTT. He dropped his last two matches.
 
Yudai Watanabe is 11-1 from line five. The sophomore has not dropped in his last nine matches. He beat Heffernan in three sets in the April 10 match.
 
Jorge Sala Brigeri and Jonas Dixon have three consecutive wins at No. 3 doubles. Safar Rasulov is 6-2 from line four, which includes a straight-set loss to Westwick. The freshman from Madrid, Spain, secured a victory against Cameron on Friday.

ABOUT THE SERIES

Midwestern State leads the series against UT Tyler with a 6-2 record. The Mustangs dropped the opening match in 1997 but took six consecutive wins starting in 2011. In the first Lone Star Conference meeting between the two teams, the Patriots bested MSU 5-2. The 2021 meeting was in Tyler, Texas. The Mustangs won 4-3 at home versus UT Tyler on April 10.

UP NEXT

Midwestern State moves on to regional play starting May 9. The NCAA Selection Show will announce the final brackets on Tuesday, May 3.