INDIANAPOLIS -- No. 5 Midwestern State took down No. 5-ranked Lynn (Fla.) 4-3 in the opening round of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Division II Indoor Championships Friday afternoon at the UIndy Tennis Center.
The Mustangs move on to face No. 6-ranked North Georgia in the semifinal round Saturday morning 10 a.m. (Central). The Nighthawks advanced by beating Flagler (Fla.) by a 4-3 score earlier on Friday.
MSU senior
Jessica Binzari delivered the clincher by defeating No. 20-ranked Salma Djoubri 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 at No. 1 singles.
Tied at 3-3 in the third set, Binzari held serve, broke at 0-40, then delivered two service aces including on match point to send the Mustangs on to the semifinals.
Binzari also helped deliver the first point of the match by teaming with
Anda Ghinga to beat Djoubri and Mariia Vyshkina, 6-0, at No. 2 doubles.
Sarah Mazaraki and
Sydney Williams clinched the doubles point by edging Lynn's Mia Garber and Zofia Podbiol, 7-5, at No. 3.
Ghinga pushed Midwestern's lead to 2-0 with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Kristin Younes at No. 4 singles, then freshman
Camila Garcia put the Mustangs on the brink of winning with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Garber at No. 5 singles to give MSU a 3-1 advantage.
In between that, Podbiol held off Williams -- 6-1, 7-5 -- to give Lynn its first win of the match at No. 6 singles.
The Fighting Knights pulled level at 3-all after Vyshkina beat MSU's
Hannah Yip -- 6-3, 6-2 -- at No. 2 singles before Carla Galmiche won a 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 match over
Sofia Giraldo at No. 3 singles.
Midwestern State improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2019 and beat a top-five ranked team for the second consecutive year. The Mustangs also took down No. 3-ranked West Alabama last season which its best win over a high-ranked opponent in program history.
-- MSUMustangs.com --
