DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- No. 13-ranked Midwestern State is coming off back-to-back dual-match victories over Washburn and McKendree as it makes a Spring Break road trip to Florida. The Mustangs make their first of three stops at Crotty Tennis Complex to face Embry-Riddle on Tuesday at 2 p.m. CDT.

Midwestern State (5-2) earned its second win over a top-five opponent  with a 4-3 victory over No. 5-ranked Washburn at home on Saturday. MSU defeated No. 3 West Alabama, 4-2, at the UT Tyler Invitational eight days earlier.

The Mustangs pummeled McKendree on Sunday at MSU Tennis Center, 6-1, and improved their record in non-conference dual matches to 5-2 this season.

Midwestern State has only won the doubles point in two of its seven dual matches and is 7-11 in doubles matches this season.

The Mustangs swept the three doubles matches on Sunday. Jessica Binzari and Anda Ghinga improved to 3-2 with a 6-1 victory over Viola Cipriani and Camilla Fonseca at No. 1 doubles.

Hannah Yip and Sarah Mazaraki cruised to a 6-2 win over Sofija Djunisijevic and Maria Salomao at No. 2 doubles, and the pairing is 3-1 this season.

Sofia Giraldo played alongside Sydney Williams for the third time this season, and the duo defeated Rhyan Cook and Pien Ruempol, 6-4, to earn the Mustangs' second win at No. 3 doubles this season.

Ghinga is undefeated in singles this season with six wins from the No. 3 position and defeated Cook on Sunday, 6-1, 6-1. The junior from Romania won two tiebreaks on Saturday to beat Renske Ubachs of Washburn at No. 2 singles, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3).

Yip stunned No. 3-ranked Maja Jung of Washburn in her first appearance at No. 1 singles for MSU on Saturday, 6-4, 7-6 (2). The junior from Malaysia overwhelmed Cipriani of McKendree the following day at No. 2 singles, 6-2, 6-0. Yip is 5-2 in singles matches for the Mustangs.

Binzari has made six appearances at No. 1 singles for MSU and is 3-3 this season. The junior transfer from Coker is coming off a 6-7 (5), 1-6 loss to Camilla Fonseca of McKendree and has alternated wins and losses against non-conference opponents.

Giraldo, a freshman from Colombia, has won three of her last four singles matches, pasting Iva Poleksic of McKendree at No. 4 singles, 6-1, 6-1, for her third straight-set win of the season. Giraldo played No. 3 singles against Washburn and defeated Lara Schmid, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 after dropping a three-set decision against West Florida at the UT Tyler Invitational. Giraldo is 4-2 in singles matches to begin her collegiate career.

Senior Skylar Minns ended a three-match skid with a 6-1, 6-1 trouncing of Sofija Djunisijevic on Sunday, improving to 4-3 in singles matches, and the native of Aransas Pass, Texas, helped MSU improve to 5-2 at the No. 5 position this season.

Micaela McSpadden clinched the win over Washburn on Saturday with a 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 victory at No. 5 singles, and she earned a 6-3, 6-1 triumph over Maria Salomao of McKendree at No. 6 singles on Sunday. The junior from Oologah, Oklahoma, is 3-1 four appearances at singles for the Mustangs.

Midwestern State defeated the Eagles, 7-2, the last time it visited Embry-Riddle in 2013. A year earlier, the Mustangs were routed in Daytona Beach, 8-1, in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

Mustangs' head coach Scott Linn held the same position at Embry-Riddle from 2000-2004 and led the Eagles to an 83-49 record during his time in Daytona Beach.

Embry-Riddle has opened the season with an 8-2 record overall, and the Eagles are 6-1 at home with victories over No. 32-ranked Mississippi College and No. 48-ranked Indiana (Pa.) in their last two dual matches.

Maja Issler is the highest-ranked singles player for the Eagles and is 6-2 at No. 2 singles in dual matches this season. Issler, ranked No. 31, had a four-match winning streak snapped with a 2-6, 4-6 loss to Chloe Kosmrlj of No. 14-ranked Wingate on March 5.

Itxaso Blanco is ranked No. 38 and is 6-3 at No. 1 singles after a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Elyangelica Alas of Mississippi College on Saturday. Blanco took the first set from Katy Graydon of Indiana (Pa.) but the match was unfinished with the fifth-year senior from Spain leading, 6-0, 5-5, on Sunday.

The Eagles have won the doubles point in seven duals this season and are 19-13 in doubles matches overall. Kaylee Kirivong and Jessica Christa Wira Hadipoernomo are 8-1 at No. 3 doubles, while Blanco and Carla Cabero del Hierro are 5-2 at No. 1 doubles.

The Mustangs travel nearly 60 miles south to Winter Park, Florida, for a dual match against Rollins at 1 p.m. CDT on Wednesday.

 

--MSUMustangs.com--