WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Midwestern State's
Germano Setti, No. 14 in the ITA Division II men's singles rankings, and No. 5 Kelly Giese of Lubbock Christian staged an epoch battle at No. 1 singles on Friday afternoon at MSU Tennis Center.
Giese eventually pulled out a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 victory that clinched the dual match for the Chaparrals, who beat the Mustangs, 5-2, and claimed their third straight win in the all-time series.
Giese, a redshirt junior from Manhattan Beach, California, is in his fourth season with LCU and faced Setti, who is a senior from Brazil playing his fourth season for MSU.
It was the first career meeting in singles for the two stalwarts.
Giese and Braden Tipton met Setti and Miret Avante at No. 1 doubles in the spring of 2023, and the LCU pairing prevailed, 6-2.
Two of the highest ranked players in the Lone Star Conference engaged in a two hour and 55-minute skirmish, which featured lengthy rallies throughout the match. Giese won his 14th straight match and improved his singles record to 15-1 this year. Setti is 7-3 at No. 1 singles for the Mustangs.
The Chaparrals, ranked No. 13 in the nation, improved to 14-5 this season and remained undefeated in four Lone Star Conference duals this season.
No. 19-ranked Midwestern State was playing in its conference opener and fell to 8-4 for the season. The Mustangs are 3-1 at home this season.
Lubbock Christian got a leg up in the dual match by taking the doubles point to start the day.
Giese and Mattia Ghedin, ranked No. 7 among NCAA DII pairings, secured the point with a 6-2 victory at No. 1 doubles, defeating 26th-ranked
Juan David Duque and
Bruno Sanchez, who suffered their third straight loss in doubles and fell to 3-5 this season.
Setti and
Matthew Earle won their ninth consecutive doubles match with a 6-4 triumph over 34th-ranked Andres De Los Rios and Pablo Segura. The MSU pairing improved its record to 10-1.
Marco Seccia and Andr Rossi Principe of LCU were 6-3 winners over
Cesar Loeches Llamas and
Jose Marquez, who fell to 2-6 at No. 3 doubles for the Mustangs.
Sanchez pulled the Mustangs even with the Chaparrals in the dual match by routing No. 15-ranked Segura, 6-3, 6-1. Sanchez improved to 5-4 at No. 2 singles, and the junior from Spain is 7-4 in singles overall.
Midwestern State took a 2-1 lead in the dual match when
Jose Marquez earned a straight-set win over No. 22-ranked Andres De Los Rios at No. 4 singles, 7-5, 6-2. Marquez won for the fifth time in his last six matches and is 8-4 in singles this season. The senior from Oaxaca, Mexico, is 4-2 at both Line 3 and Line 4.
Ghedin, ranked No. 73 in singles, dealt Duque a 3-6, 5-7 defeat at No. 3 singles, ending a four-match winning streak for the senior from Colombia. Duque is 1-4 at No. 3 singles with a 7-5 overall record in singles.
Seccia was a 6-1, 6-3 winner at No. 6 singles for LCU, defeating
Tomas Leguizamon, a freshman from Colombia, who is 2-4 in his first six singles matches for MSU.
Earle fell short in two tightly contested sets at No. 5 singles as Jordan Georgiev squeaked out a 7-5, 7-6 (5) victory for the Chaparrals. Earle is 3-4 in the No. 5 position for the Mustangs.
Midwestern State travels to Baylor for an exhibition at Hurd Tennis Center in Waco, Texas, on Saturday but returns to MSU Tennis Center on Sunday for a 2 p.m. dual match with UT Permian Basin.
-- MSUMustangs.com --
