WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS – The men's program suffered their first LSC defeat and the women's program suffered just their second defeat in LSC play in a pair of tight battles at Midwestern State on Sunday afternoon.
 
Chloe Dix and Brooklyn Ross paired up in the doubles section of the match and started the match with a 6-2 victory to put the Patriots just one win away from taking the doubles point.
 
Delara Zamani and Chloe Chawner matched up against the #24 doubles pair in Division II in Anda Ghinga and Hannah Yip in the #1 doubles position. The match would belong to the Mustangs by a score of 6-3, leaving the doubles point up to the pair of Leony Deutschmann and Tanvikhaa Saravanan.
 
Deutschmann and Saravanan matched up against the #45 doubles pair in Divison II in Casie Curry and Emilija Visic. The match was hard fought and came down to the wire, but Curry and Visic would take the match 6-4 to clinch the doubles point for Midwestern State.
 
In the singles portion of the match, the Patriots needed to mount a comeback to try and extend their winning streak. Ross got things started in the #3 singles position, and put in a dominant 6-2, 6-2 win to even the score at 1-1. In the #2 slot, Saravanan battled closely with Curry, but Curry would take the match in straight sets by scores of 6-2, 7-6.
 
In the #4 singles match, Ethne Dowling of MSU faced off against Dnyanada Patil. The pair split their opening two sets by scores of 6-2 and 7-6, but a retirement from Patil in the third set gave a third point to MSU.
 
With the Patriots down to their last straw, Deutschmann stepped in at the #1 singles slot ranked #64 in Division II to take on Ghinga who was ranked #44. After losing the first set 3-6, Deutschmann responded with a pair of 6-4 set victories to win her match and keep the Patriots in range.
 
Chawner was in the #5 singles slot, and the match came down to her. Chawner fought closely and forced a third set after splitting the first two sets 1-6, 6-4. However, Visic was just too much in the third set and claimed victory and the match for Midwestern State as they won by a score of 5-2.
 
The men's match proved to be even closer, as both programs came into the match undefeated in LSC play. Midwestern State looked to set the tone early with strong performances in doubles, and in the #3 doubles slot they brought home a quick win by a score of 6-3 over Safar Rasulov and Yudai Watanabe.
 
Next up was the #1 doubles match between Alex Martinez Roca / Ben Westwick and Gonzalo Fernandez Gil / Moritz Mayer. The Midwestern State duo ranks as the #2 pair in Division II, and the Patriots combo ranks at #47. The match was closely fought, but the Mustangs prevailed 6-4.
 
In the #2 doubles match, Joaquin Bianchi and Jonas Dixon took on Brice Bradshaw and Corbin Ford, but ultimately fell in another close match by a score of 6-4.
 
With the Mustangs taking the doubles point, the Patriots needed to come from behind to claim the win. Mayer was the first man up in the #3 singles slot and delivered a much needed straight sets win by scores of 6-3, 6-2 to even the match at one.
 
In the #1 slot, Bianchi faced off against Martinez Roca in a battle between the #29 and #16 ranked players in Division II. This time it was Martinez Roca who took victory by set scores of 6-3, 6-1. That match led to the #4 singles position, where Rasulov took on Westwick. Rasulov battled closely, but the Mustangs took their second consecutive point by scores of 6-2, 6-4 to go up 3-1 in the match.
 
With the Patriots on the ropes, Fernandez Gil answered the call and came away with a huge straight sets win over Bradshaw in the #2 singles position by scores of 7-5, 6-2. That match kept the Patriots in the match, and Dixon was next up in the #6 singles position with a chance to level the match at three points each.
 
Dixon battled against Stefan Andrei and the match was close, but the Mustangs prevailed with scores of 6-4, 6-3 to claim the point and the match.
 
Watanabe was battling in the #5 singles slot, and delivered a tight three set victory of his own to claim one final point for UT Tyler by scores of 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.
 
Next up for the Patriots men will be a week off of competition to rest and recover before making the final push towards postseason play. Their next match will be on April 23 against St. Mary's and will the final regular season contest before the LSC Championships April 28-May 1.
 
For the ladies, they will hit the road again this week to take on Angelo State and Texas A&M-Kingsville on April 14 and 16. These will be the final two road contests of the year before they also battle it out with St. Mary's on April 23.