ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- No. 20-ranked Midwestern State makes its final stop in the Sunshine State to face No. 2-ranked Flagler at Pollard Tennis Center. First serve is scheduled for 11 a.m. CDT.

Midwestern State, which is 4-6 this season, hopes to end a streak of five consecutive losses in dual matches and is coming off a 5-1 loss to Rollins on Wednesday afternoon.

Freshman Bruno Sanchez of Spain earned the only point for Midwestern State with a see-saw 6-0, 1-6, 6-2 victory over Guillermo Castaneda at No. 5 singles.

Juan David Duque battled Moritz Stenzer at No. 6 singles, but Stenzer prevailed, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 7-6 (3). Duque played his first singles match for the Mustangs since a 5-7, 6-3, 2-6 loss at Biola during last year's Spring Break trip to California. Duque was 5-3 in singles matches last season.

The Mustangs have won the doubles point in five of nine dual matches and are 14-12 in doubles matches this season.

The 12th-ranked duo of Slocombe and Luis Diaz Argente is 6-2 after a four-match winning streak was snapped at Rollins. Luke Quaynor and Richard Stoiberer earned a 6-3 victory over the Mustangs.

Flagler leads the all-time series with MSU, 2-0. Both meetings were in Oklahoma City at the ITA Team National Indoor Championship. The Saints won the last encounter in 2021, 4-0. A year earlier at the OKC Tennis Center, Flagler defeated MSU, 4-1.

Flagler is 9-2 this season with a 6-1 record at Pollard Tennis Center. The Saints have a five-match winning streak. Flagler moved up four spots to No. 2 in the latest ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings. It is the highest ranking the program has received in the NCAA Division II era.

The Saints were at the USTA National Tennis Center in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday and defeated No. 8-ranked Wayne State, 5-2. Flagler returned home to face Jefferson on Wednesday and posted a 7-0 victory over the Rams.

Baptiste Mercier, who was 16-2 and an All-LSC performer at Cameron last year, is leading the Saints this year and is ranked No. 2 in singles by the ITA. Mercier is 7-2 in dual matches this spring and has won his last three matches at No. 2 singles after suffering a 6-2, 5-7, 4-6 loss to Sebastian Pjontek of Washburn on Feb. 28.

Jacopo Denitto is No. 8 in the latest ITA men's singles rankings and has won four of his last five matches at No. 1 singles, including a 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 10-3 triumph over Hannibal Borg of Jefferson. Denitto rebounded from a 4-6, 4-6 loss to No. 13-ranked Daniel Grey of Wayne State. The junior from Italy is 7-4 this season.

Senior Philipp Lemken has a four-match winning streak and is 7-3 in dual matches for the Saints, including a 6-3 record at No. 4 singles.

Simon Malis, a freshman from the Czech Republic, has a five-match winning streak at No. 3 singles and is 8-2 in dual matches for the Saints.

Illian Borlee, a sophomore from Belgium, is 9-1 this spring with a seven-match winning streak, including a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Denali Kitayama of Wayne State on Saturday. The transfer from Nicholls State has not lost a set since a 6-4, 4-6, 3-6 setback against Dylan Andrianaly of No. 3-ranked Saint Leo on Feb. 17.

The Saints have won the doubles point in six of nine duals this season, and have not lost a doubles match in their last three duals. Borlee and Mercier are 7-1 at No. 2 doubles, while Lemken and Malis are 6-2 at No. 1 singles.

Midwestern State returns to the Lone Star State and meets Hawaii Pacific in Midlothian on Monday. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m.

--MSUMustangs.com--