Tuesday, April 23
Abilene, Texas
5 p.m.
Abilene Christian
4
vs
3
Midwestern State
Photo by: Meda Bow
Men's tennis wins final tune-up before Southlands
4/23/2019 10:47:00 PM | Men's Tennis
ABILENE – With 10 days passed since its last match and the Southland Conference Championship right around the corner, perhaps Tuesday's nail-biting, five-hour, one-point battle with Midwestern State is exactly what Abilene Christian men's tennis team needed to experience to get ready for its biggest weekend of the season.
The Wildcats know they're in for a fight starting Friday in Corpus Christi, Texas, and whom better to get them ready for the challenge that awaits than one of their oldest rivals – the Lone Star Conference's MSU Mustangs, who entered this evening's match with 16 wins, a No. 20 DII national ranking and three nationally recognized competitors.
ACU knows any Southland team is capable of stretching the opposition to its absolute limit and that's what the 20th-ranked Mustangs – a national quarterfinalist four of the last six years – did tonight to the Wildcats (21-4) in a 4-3 loss.
The Mustangs (16-4) started with a doubles point triumph as all three lines were decided by two or fewer points. MSU's No. 3 team of Denney Norrie and Angel Palacios topped ACU's Nikolas Moceanu and Riley Tran, and at No. 2, Dillon Pineda and Nolan McCaig edged veterans Jackson Fine and Cole Lawson 7-6 (5) for their first loss in five matches.
At the top line, brothers Jonathan and Josh Sheehy played to a 5-5 unfinished draw against DII's 21st-ranked duo of Ben Westwick and Alberto Diaz, which is 11-4 on the spring and 7-3 over its last 10 decisions.
The Sheehys bounced back in singles to give their team a 2-1 lead. Josh, who is ranked 112th in today's ITA rankings, defeated No. 2 Palacios in efficient fashion, 6-2, 6-2, while his younger sibling Jonathan downed Pineda, 6-2, 6-3. Josh has won his last seven matches at No. 1 in improving to 18-4 on the spring while Jon's record stands at 14-8 thanks to his current four-match winning streak.
The Mustangs counter punched once more and took a 3-2 lead with their win at No. 3, where Alex Martinez-Roca slipped past Moceanu, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (7), but the next two matches went the way of the Wildcats thank to their two first-year talents. Freshman Dimitris Azoides picked up his 17th win of the spring after beating McCaig, 6-4, 6-4, and then Tran – a winner of 27 matches between singles and doubles – held off Alberto Diaz, 6-3, 3-6, 10-5 for the match-clinching point.
Redshirt junior Sebastian Langdon made his first appearance in the lineup in close to a month, and closed out the dual with a hard-fought 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) loss to Westwick.
With tonight's results in the books, the Wildcats finished their regular season with 96 singles victories through 25 matches and won 60 percent of their doubles contests (37-24).
ACU's next match is Friday at 2 p.m. vs. fourth-seeded Nicholls at the Southland Conference Championship hosted by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The winner will face the victor of No. 2 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and No. 3 Incarnate Word. The Wildcats won all five of their conference matches this spring in earning the tournament's top seed for the first time in program history.
Abilene Christian 4, #20 Midwestern State 3
Apr 23, 2019 at Abilene, Texas (Teague Events Center)
Singles competition
1. #112 Josh Sheehy (ACU) def. #2 Angel Palacios (MSU) 6-2, 6-2
2. Jonathan Sheehy (ACU) def. Dillon Pineda (MSU) 6-2, 6-3
3. Alex Martinez-Roca (MSU) def. Nikolas Moceanu (ACU) 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (9-7)
4. Dimitris Azoides (ACU) def. Nolan McCaig (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
5. Riley Tran (ACU) def. Alberto Diaz (MSU) 6-3, 3-6, 10-5
6. Ben Westwick (MSU) def. Sebastian Langdon (ACU) 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5)
Doubles competition
1. Jonathan Sheehy/Josh Sheehy (ACU) vs. #21 Ben Westwick/Alberto Diaz (MSU) 5-5, unfinished
2. Dillon Pineda/Nolan McCaig (MSU) def. Jackson Fine/Cole Lawson (ACU) 7-6 (7-5)
3. Denney Norrie/Angel Palacios (MSU) def. Nikolas Moceanu/Riley Tran (ACU) 6-4
Match Notes
Midwestern State 16-4; National ranking #20
Abilene Christian 21-4
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (1,2,3,4,5,6)
T-5:00 A-100
The Wildcats know they're in for a fight starting Friday in Corpus Christi, Texas, and whom better to get them ready for the challenge that awaits than one of their oldest rivals – the Lone Star Conference's MSU Mustangs, who entered this evening's match with 16 wins, a No. 20 DII national ranking and three nationally recognized competitors.
ACU knows any Southland team is capable of stretching the opposition to its absolute limit and that's what the 20th-ranked Mustangs – a national quarterfinalist four of the last six years – did tonight to the Wildcats (21-4) in a 4-3 loss.
The Mustangs (16-4) started with a doubles point triumph as all three lines were decided by two or fewer points. MSU's No. 3 team of Denney Norrie and Angel Palacios topped ACU's Nikolas Moceanu and Riley Tran, and at No. 2, Dillon Pineda and Nolan McCaig edged veterans Jackson Fine and Cole Lawson 7-6 (5) for their first loss in five matches.
At the top line, brothers Jonathan and Josh Sheehy played to a 5-5 unfinished draw against DII's 21st-ranked duo of Ben Westwick and Alberto Diaz, which is 11-4 on the spring and 7-3 over its last 10 decisions.
The Sheehys bounced back in singles to give their team a 2-1 lead. Josh, who is ranked 112th in today's ITA rankings, defeated No. 2 Palacios in efficient fashion, 6-2, 6-2, while his younger sibling Jonathan downed Pineda, 6-2, 6-3. Josh has won his last seven matches at No. 1 in improving to 18-4 on the spring while Jon's record stands at 14-8 thanks to his current four-match winning streak.
The Mustangs counter punched once more and took a 3-2 lead with their win at No. 3, where Alex Martinez-Roca slipped past Moceanu, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (7), but the next two matches went the way of the Wildcats thank to their two first-year talents. Freshman Dimitris Azoides picked up his 17th win of the spring after beating McCaig, 6-4, 6-4, and then Tran – a winner of 27 matches between singles and doubles – held off Alberto Diaz, 6-3, 3-6, 10-5 for the match-clinching point.
Redshirt junior Sebastian Langdon made his first appearance in the lineup in close to a month, and closed out the dual with a hard-fought 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) loss to Westwick.
With tonight's results in the books, the Wildcats finished their regular season with 96 singles victories through 25 matches and won 60 percent of their doubles contests (37-24).
ACU's next match is Friday at 2 p.m. vs. fourth-seeded Nicholls at the Southland Conference Championship hosted by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The winner will face the victor of No. 2 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and No. 3 Incarnate Word. The Wildcats won all five of their conference matches this spring in earning the tournament's top seed for the first time in program history.
Abilene Christian 4, #20 Midwestern State 3
Apr 23, 2019 at Abilene, Texas (Teague Events Center)
Singles competition
1. #112 Josh Sheehy (ACU) def. #2 Angel Palacios (MSU) 6-2, 6-2
2. Jonathan Sheehy (ACU) def. Dillon Pineda (MSU) 6-2, 6-3
3. Alex Martinez-Roca (MSU) def. Nikolas Moceanu (ACU) 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (9-7)
4. Dimitris Azoides (ACU) def. Nolan McCaig (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
5. Riley Tran (ACU) def. Alberto Diaz (MSU) 6-3, 3-6, 10-5
6. Ben Westwick (MSU) def. Sebastian Langdon (ACU) 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5)
Doubles competition
1. Jonathan Sheehy/Josh Sheehy (ACU) vs. #21 Ben Westwick/Alberto Diaz (MSU) 5-5, unfinished
2. Dillon Pineda/Nolan McCaig (MSU) def. Jackson Fine/Cole Lawson (ACU) 7-6 (7-5)
3. Denney Norrie/Angel Palacios (MSU) def. Nikolas Moceanu/Riley Tran (ACU) 6-4
Match Notes
Midwestern State 16-4; National ranking #20
Abilene Christian 21-4
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (1,2,3,4,5,6)
T-5:00 A-100
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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