Midwestern State head men's and women's tennis coach Scott Linn discusses the challenges his teams face week-in and week-out, and the on-court battles throughout the course of the season.

The Midwestern State women have beaten six highly ranked teams on their way to a 9-1 record, and the ITA Collegiate Rankings have the Mustangs ranked No. 1 in the nation for the first time in program history. The Stangs defeated No. 9-ranked Auburn-Montgomery, No. 25-ranked West Florida and No. 12-ranked West Alabama over three days at the UT Tyler Invitational. Jessica Binzari has started the dual-match season with a 7-1 record, including 5-0 at No. 1 singles and is ranked No. 5 in the country. Sofia Giraldo is ranked No. 14 among NCAA Division II singles players, while Binzari and Anda Ghinga are ranked No. 7 in doubles. 

The men’s tennis team is No. 9 in the nation and has started the dual-match campaign with a 4-2 record. Both losses have come against highly ranked opponents — No. 1-ranked West Florida and No. 3-ranked Washburn. Freshman Filip Vacula is ranked No. 18 among NCAA Division II singles players and is 2-1 against top-10 opponents in the dual-match season. Junior Juan David Duque is ranked No. 28 in singles and has won his first three matches for the Mustangs this year. Bruno Sanchez is ranked No. 46 in singles, and he is No. 31 in doubles with his partner Justin Van Amerongen. The duo is 3-1 in dual matches this season, and the sophomore from Spain is coming off a 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-2) victory over Jacob Tapia of West Alabama at No. 2 singles.

The Mustangs are home this weekend for dual matches with Northwest Missouri State, Newman and Arkansas-Fort Smith. MSU and Northwest Missouri State strike the first ball in anger at 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon at MSU Tennis Center.