WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- No. 3-ranked Midwestern State won its fifth consecutive dual match and remained undefeated in conference play with a 6-1 victory over Texas A&M-Kingsville at MSU Tennis Center on Saturday afternoon.
Midwestern State improved to 12-3 overall and 4-0 in conference play. The Mustangs are 7-0 at home this season and took 17 of 21 points during their three-dual match homestand, which included a 4-3 win over No. 19-ranked Angelo State on Friday.
The Mustangs won the doubles point for the fourth time in their last five dual matches. In its last four dual matches at MSU Tennis Center, Midwestern State has won 11 of 12 doubles matches.
Hannah Yip and
Shreya Chakraborty won their third consecutive match at No. 2 doubles with a 6-1 victory over Luna Jokanovic and Manuela Turolo.
Sydney Williams and
Sofia Giraldo continue to impress at No. 3 doubles. The duo has a three-match winning streak following a 6-2 victory over Annika Gomez and Ella Hester on Saturday.
The Javelinas pulled out a tightly contested match at No. 1 doubles. The 32nd-ranked team of Alessa Maier and Milou Ter Morsche defeated No. 50-ranked
Jessica Binzari and
Anda Ghinga, 6-4, but the point had already been clinched by Williams and Giraldo.
Ghinga rebounded from her first loss of the year in singles with a resounding 6-1, 6-1 victory over Jokanovic. Ghinga improved to 13-1 for the season. Head coach
Scott Linn said the 25th-ranked singles player in the nation never allowed her opponent to get in the match.
Yip, ranked No. 36 in the nation among NCAA Division II singles players, won in straight sets for the third consecutive match and extended her winning streak to four matches with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Turolo at No. 3 singles, giving the Stang Gang an early 3-0 lead in the dual match.
"
Hannah Yip was really good today," Linn said. "She was extremely stubborn with the game plan."
Giraldo improved to 10-4 and clinched the dual match for the Mustangs, defeating Milou Ter Morsche, 6-2, 6-3 at No. 4 singles.
"Sofia is so calm and so tough to play against," Linn said. "She bounced back well after a tough loss yesterday."
Sydney Williams earned another win at No. 6 singles and improved to 2-1 in three set matches with a 6-0, 1-6, 6-2 conquest of Raina Zaffar at No. 6 singles. Williams has reeled off six straight wins in singles and is 5-1 in the No. 6 position for the Mustangs.
"Most of the match Sydney kind of carried the energy of our team, and at the end, when the match was clinched, she still took ownership of her situation and finished her match, which is great to see," Linn said.
Skylar Minns won a marathon match at No. 5 singles and prevailed, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 10-6. She won a three-set match for the second-straight day and extended her winning streak at No. 5 singles to four matches. The senior from Aransas Pass, Texas, is 8-5 for the season and 4-0 against conference opponents.
"That's the best I've seen Skylar play at the end of a match in a long time," Linn said. "She has another level of tennis that today she showed in the super tiebreak."
Jessica Binzari faced a nationally ranked opponent for the eighth time this season and battled No. 7-ranked Alessa Maier at No. 1 singles. Binzari, who is ranked No. 47 in the nation, played two tiebreak sets and was narrowly defeated, 6-7 (4), 6-7 (1).
"Really happy to see Jessica get into the match and find out what to do," Linn said. "She put herself in a position to win, and that's what you got to do. You got to put yourself in a position to win before you can win."
The Mustangs look to continue their winning ways on the road at Western New Mexico on Friday. MSU is 7-0 all-time against the Western Mustangs, and the next meeting gets underway at noon CDT on the WNMU Tennis Courts in Silver City, New Mexico.
-- MSUMustangs.com --
