ALPINE, Texas -- No. 3-ranked Midwestern State is on the road to face LSC newcomer Sul Ross State and Western New Mexico this week. The Mustangs and Lobos meet at 9 a.m. on Friday, and Midwestern State makes the journey to Silver City, New Mexico, for its clash with WNMU at 10 a.m. on Saturday.


Midwestern State has won 10 consecutive dual matches and is 16-1 overall this season. The Mustangs have a 5-0 record in conference play after defeating No. 31-ranked Angelo State, 5-2, at MSU Tennis Center on Sunday. 

Jessica Binzari, a senior from Romania, leads the Mustangs with an 11-3 record in singles, including a 9-2 record in the No. 1 position. Binzari, who is No. 7 in the ITA singles national rankings, is 3-0 this year in matches against ranked opponents.


Senior left-hander Hannah Yip has won four of her last five matches, including a 6-3, 7-6 (3) win over Rhea Singh of UTPB at No. 2 singles.


Anda Ghinga has a six-match winning streak and is 13-2 this season with her last five wins coming in the No. 3 position. The senior from Romania is 63-21 in singles matches during her career at MSU and will tie Lacey Wuthrich for the school record in all-time singles victories with her next triumph. 


Sofia Giraldo, ranked No. 24 among NCAA Division II singles players, has won her last six matches in straight sets. Giraldo is 5-0 in conference matches and 5-0 at No. 4 singles. The sophomore from Colombia is 11-5 overall in singles.


Sydney Williams has reeled off six-straight singles victories, and she has won her last seven matches alongside Sarah Mazaraki in doubles. The senior from Austin, Texas, is a combined 19-5 for the Mustangs.


Midwestern State is 66-22 in singles this season with a 33-13 record in doubles. The Mustangs have won the doubles point in each of their last seven dual matches and have taken the first point in 13 of 17 duals this season.


Binzari and Ghinga are ranked No. 14 in the nation among NCAA Division II doubles pairings. The Romanian duo is 2-3 at No. 1 doubles against LSC opponents. 

Yip and Camila Garcia, who are the 49th-ranked pairing in doubles, are 4-1 in conference matches at No. 2 doubles for the Mustangs.

MSU is 14-2 at No. 2 doubles and 13-3 in the No. 3 position this season.

Midwestern State is 6-4 in its all-time meetings with Sul Ross State, but the two schools have not faced off since the Mustangs 6-3 victory at Alpine in 1995. MSU is 2-2 all-time when visiting the Lobos. 

Sul Ross State is 0-9 this season and has not won a dual-match point against its first five opponents in the LSC. The Lobos last earned a point in a dual on March 9, when they were tripped up at the University of Dallas, 4-3.

Midwestern State has won all eight of its previous encounters with Western New Mexico, and MSU has taken 50 of 53 dual-match points since WNMU joined the Lone Star Conference for the 2017 season.

Western New Mexico is 3-8 this season with a 1-3 conference record after suffering a 4-0 loss to Dallas Baptist. 

The Western Mustangs have lost their last six dual matches since defeating Sul Ross State, 6-0, on March 1.

Western New Mexico will host Cameron the day before Midwestern State visits Silver City, New Mexico.

Midwestern State returns home to face UT Tyler at MSU Tennis Center on April 17. First serve is scheduled for 10 a.m.

                                                                                            -- MSUMustangs.com --