LUBBOCK, Texas -- – No. 5-ranked Lubbock Christian won four singles matches and defeated No. 15-ranked Midwestern State, 4-3, at Penny Gullo Tennis Center on Friday afternoon.
The day got off to a promising start for Midwestern State as the Mustangs swept the three doubles matches to take the early lead over the Chaparrals.
The No. 19-ranked doubles team of
Stephen Slocombe and
Filip Vacula handled the 44th-ranked duo of Jordan Georgiev and Kelly Giese to complete the sweep in doubles.
Bruno Sanchez and
Justin Van Amerongen defeated the 30th-ranked pairing of Mattia Ghedin and Marco Seccia at No. 2 doubles, 6-3.
Juan David Duque and
Killian Guillou posted a 6-3 victory over Andres Kolejewska and Pablo Segura in the No. 3 position.
Lubbock Christian was victorious in the first two completed singles matches.
In a battle of top-20 ranked combatants, No. 17-ranked Giese defeated No. 11-ranked Vacula, 7-5, 6-2 at No. 1 singles. Vacula is now 5-2 against nationally ranked opponents in his freshman campaign, and the native of the Czech Republic is 6-4 at No. 1 singles.
Kolejewska earned the first point for the Chaparrals with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over junior
Jose Marquez at No. 4 singles. Marquez, who hails from Oaxaca, Mexico, had a three-match winning streak halted and fell to 5-3 for the season.
Sanchez, ranked No. 32 in the nation, upended No. 18-ranked Pablo Segura at No. 2 singles to pull the Mustangs even in the dual. Sanchez, a sophomore from Spain, has won six of his last seven matches for MSU and improved his singles record to 7-5 this season.
Slocombe gave the Mustangs a short-lived lead with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over No. 46-ranked Mattia Ghedin. The senior from Barbados has reeled off six consecutive wins at No. 3 singles and has seven wins in 10 starts this spring.
The outcome of the dual was determined by the results at No. 5 and No. 6 singles.
Blas Ruiz pulled away from No. 34-ranked Duque, 6-1, 7-5, 6-1 at No. 6 singles to tie the dual match, 3-3. Duque has suffered back-to-back losses in conference play after winning five of his first six starts for the Mustangs.
Van Amerongen started strong at No. 5 singles, but Seccia regrouped for the Chaparrals and clinched the victory for LCU with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 triumph to close out the day. Van Amerongen, a senior from the Netherlands, was making his first appearance at No. 5 singles after starting the season 1-2 at the No. 6 position.
Midwestern State is back on the court Saturday afternoon in Odessa, Texas, for a dual match with UT Permian Basin. First serve at Ratliff Stadium Tennis Courts is scheduled for 2 p.m.
-- MSUMustangs.com --
