MATCH NOTES

MARSHALL, Minn. - The Southwest Minnesota State tennis team (8-8, 4-5 NSIC) is on the road this weekend and into early next week for a trio of matches.  SMSU will play Bethel on Saturday at 12 p.m. and then head to St. Cloud, Minn., for Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play against Winona State at 2 p.m. Sunday.  On Monday, SMSU makes the trek to South Dakota to battle Sioux Falls in a non-conference contest.
 
Series records:  This will be the 10th meeting between SMSU and BU in a series that began in 2000. The Mustangs won the last two contests; however, Bethel has won seven of the 10 meetings between the two programs. WSU and SMSU first played in 1978, and the Mustangs have a 13-21 record against Warriors. SMSU dropped last year's contest 5-4.  The SMSU-USF series is tied at three wins apiece; the Mustangs have won the last two meetings.

Last time out: SMSU had a busy weekend, winning three of the four match-ups in its weekend series, including the Mustangs' first win at home against Minnesota-Morris. SMSU swept UMM last Friday at Legion Field in a 9-0 decision. The Mustangs then traveled to St. Joseph, Minn., to defeat St. Benedict's 5-4 on Saturday. NSIC opponent Minnesota Duluth took on the Mustangs on Sunday in St. Cloud with SMSU winning the contest 8-1. On Monday, the Mustangs returned home to Legion Field to take on NSIC-leading Augustana. The Vikings snapped the Mustangs' five-match winning streak in a 7-2 victory.

SMSU ranked in Central Region: SMSU is ranked 10th in the ITA Central Rankings as of March 30. Other teams from the NSIC placing in the Central region include St. Cloud State (No.  1) Upper Iowa (No. 5), Augustana (No. 6), Minnesota State (No. 7),  and Winona State (No.9).
    1.     St. Cloud State
    2.     Mesa State
    3.     Western New Mexico
    4.     Nebraska- Kearney
    5.     Upper Iowa
    6.     Augustana College
    7.     Minnesota State
    8.     Metro State
    9.     Winona State
    10. SMSU

Multiple Mustangs ranked in Central Region: Freshman Lissa Murakami (São Paulo, Brazil) is ranked No. 12 in the latest ITA Central Region singles rankings. She currently holds a record of 7-5. The SMSU doubles team of juniors Cailey Grupe (Trimont, Minn.) and Trisha Baldwin (Montevideo, Minn.) are ranked No. 4. The duo is 11-3 from SMSU's No. 1 spot.  

Senior momentum:  The 2010 roster features two seniors in Danielle Hildebrandt (St. James, Minn.) and Amy Daniels (Marshall, Minn.).  The two have been mainstays in the SMSU lineup throughout their careers, making waves in both singles and doubles play.

The coach:  The longest tenured coach currently on staff at SMSU, George Seldat enters his 16th season as head tennis coach of the Mustangs in 2010. Seldat has compiled a 84-153 overall record at SMSU.

Stay connected:  Stay connected with SMSU tennis all season long at www.smsumustangs.com.  The Mustangs are also on Facebook and Twitter; just log onto www.facebook.com/smsumustangs and www.twitter.com/smsumustangs.  For the latest video highlights and new episodes of the Mustang Minute check out SMSU's official YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/smsuathletics.