WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- No. 5-ranked Midwestern State plays its final non-conference dual match of the season at MSU Tennis Center on Tuesday as Colorado State-Pueblo visits the Mustangs. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m.

The Mustangs are 9-3 this season and are coming off back-to-back wins over conference opponents, including a 4-3 win over No. 19-ranked Lubbock Christian. MSU has five wins in seven dual matches against nationally-ranked opponents this season.

Midwestern State is coming off a decisive 6-1 win over St. Mary's at Rohrbach Stadium Tennis Complex on Friday afternoon, winning all six singles matches, including three matches that were extended to three sets. MSU ended the Rattlers' five-dual winning streak.

Jessica Binzari, No. 38 in the ITA collegiate tennis rankings among NCAA Division II singles players, is 4-6 at No. 1 singles for the Mustangs. Two of the losses for the junior from Romania have come against nationally ranked opponents. In San Antonio, Binzari posted a 6-3, 6-3 win over Paula Garrote of St. Mary's.

Anda Ghinga, who is ranked No. 66 in singles, has won 12 consecutive matches to start the season. The junior defeated No. 11-ranked Selina Wu of St. Mary's, 6-2, 6-3, for her second win over a nationally ranked opponent. On Friday, Ghinga made her second appearance at No. 2 singles for the Mustangs. The Romanian is 10-0 at No. 3 singles this season.

Hannah Yip is 2-1 against nationally ranked opponents this season and is coming off a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 3 singles over Karen Kondo of St. Mary's. The left-handed junior from Malaysia is 4-0 in three-set matches and is 7-5 overall this season with a 5-5 mark at No. 2 singles. She also has a win at No. 1 singles.

Freshman Sofia Giraldo has started her collegiate career with an 8-3 record and has won six of her last seven matches, including a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (3) victory over Alessia Terlizzi of St. Mary's. Giraldo is 2-1 in three-set matches, defeating Lara Schmid of No. 3-ranked Washburn, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.

Skylar Minns has won back-to-back matches at No. 5 singles and improved to 6-5 overall this season with a 7-6 (5), 6-4 win over Stela Sifuentes of St. Mary's. Minns has won two tiebreak sets this season, defeating Greta Zowels of  No. 7-ranked West Alabama 6-3, 7-6 (3).

Midwestern State is 4-6 at No. 6 singles, but Sydney Williams has won her last three singles matches in the No. 6 position. The junior from Austin, Texas, dispatched Janel Ospanova of St. Mary's, 5-7, 6-0, 6-2.

Midwestern State has won the doubles point in four duals this season, including a sweep of Lubbock Christian at MSU Tennis Center on March 20.

Ghinga and Binzari are a formidable pairing at No. 1 doubles and ranked No. 33 in the nation among NCAA Division II doubles teams. The Romanian duo defeated Anastasiia Opolska and Oshini Herath of Lubbock Christian, 6-4. Ghinga and Binzari have faced nationally ranked pairings four times this season and are 6-4 overall.

Yip and Sarah Mazaraki had a five-match winning streak at No. 2 doubles snapped at St. Mary's after a close match with Garrote and Terlizzi of St. Mary's, who prevailed, 7-6 (4). Yip and Mazaraki are 7-2 as a tandem for the Stang Gang this season, including a 6-3 win over No. 36-ranked Andrea De Bernardo and Michelle Trochez of Lubbock Christian.

Williams and Giraldo have helped solidify the No. 3 doubles position. The pairing is 3-4 overall but has posted wins in duals against No. 26-ranked Rollins and No. 19-ranked Lubbock Christian. The duo has won their last two matches at MSU Tennis Center.

Midwestern State is undefeated in dual matches at home this season with a 4-0 record and leads the all-time series with Colorado State-Pueblo, 8-1, winning the last seven encounters with the Thunderwolves. Since suffering a 5-4 loss to Colorado State-Pueblo in Edmond, Oklahoma, in 1998, the Mustangs have taken 57 of 59 points against the Thunderwolves in the last seven meetings.

Colorado State-Pueblo won its first visit to MSU in 1997, 5-4, but has been swept by the Mustangs in their last two trips to Wichita Falls. The last encounter was in March of 2020, when Midwestern State swept the three doubles matches, including two wins at love. The Stangs did not drop a set in singles and won seven of 11 sets at love.

Colorado State-Pueblo is on its Spring Break road trip, which started in Liberal, Kansas, with an exhibition dual against Seward County Community College. The Thunderwolves are playing an exhibition against Collin County Community College and meeting Dallas Baptist before facing Midwestern State.

Colorado State-Pueblo is 0-6 in dual matches with an 8-25 record in singles matches and a 1-17 mark in doubles.

Freshman Mariangel Nunez from Venezuela has been a bright spot for the Thunderwolves with a 4-1 record in singles. Nunez defeated Yone Pereiro of Fort Hays State in her last match at No. 3 singles, 6-1, 6-2. She is 3-0 in the No. 3 position with a 1-0 record at No. 2 singles. Her one loss came in her lone appearance at No. 1 singles.

Midwestern State returns to conference play on Friday with a dual match against Angelo State at MSU Tennis Center. First serve is scheduled for noon. Texas A&M-Kingsville visits the Mustangs on Saturday for a 1 p.m. dual match.
 

--MSUMustangs.com--