Silver City, N.M. – The Men's and Women's tennis team, closed out conference play Saturday against the Mustangs of Midwestern State.
The women's doubles portion kicked off at 8:30, with the #1 and #3 showing some fight, but ultimately falling 6-4. The #2 pair struggled, falling 6-0 giving MSU- Texas their first point of the dual.
After a lineup change by MSU, singles competition took off with #1 Julia Tozzi (Limeira, Brazil ) taking an early lead. Despite winning big rallies, the women of Western could not string together the points falling 7-0 on the day.
As the men prepared for their half of the dual, it proved to be a true battle of the Mustangs. The duo of Niko Barr (Whakatane, New Zealand/Trident) and Tanaka Chabata () grabbed a win at #3 doubles by a score of 6-4 to give the team some confidence going into singles play.
Another lineup change by MSU, saw Liam Fraboulet (France, Plouha/Lycée Kerraoul) take on Dillon Pineda at #1 singles. The lone senior for the Western men, Fraboulet claimed a quick 6-1, 6-0 victory over Pineda to cap off his final home game of his career.
Tanaka Chabata () scored the second point for Western at the #6 singles position, hanging with Ben Westwick of MSU to take a 6-4, 6-4 win.
The Mustang men ultimately fell 5-2 on the day, but sent of seniors Karina Diaz (Laredo, TX/United), Christine Roerick (Albuquerque, NM/La Cueva) and Liam Fraboulet (France, Plouha/Lycée Kerraoul) with a touching ceremony following the men's dual.
The teams will have a few more matches before heading to Waco, Texas in the beginning of May for the Lone Star Conference Tournament Championships.
