LUBBOCK, Texas – For the third time this spring Lubbock Christian defeated Midwestern State as Andres De Los Rios clinched a 4-1 victory for the Chaparrals with a 7-5, 6-4 triumph over
Jose Marquez at No. 4 singles in the South Central Region preliminary dual.
Lubbock Christian ended the Mustangs season and clinched a berth in the NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Round of 16 on Tuesday afternoon at Penny Gullo Tennis Center.
The Chaparrals, who lost to Valdosta State in the national semifinals last year, are headed to Surprise, Arizona, for the national tournament, which begins on May 20.
Lubbock Christian (22-5) extended its winning streak to 12 straight duals and won their 15th consecutive dual on home soil.
Midwestern State finished its campaign with a 14-8 record and lost in the Round of 32 for the sixth consecutive year. The Mustangs were 3-5 in away duals this season.
Midwestern State had won the doubles point in five consecutive dual matches, but the Chaparrals took the first point on Tuesday afternoon.
Germano Setti and
Matthew Earle posted a 6-2 win over De Los Rios and Pablo Segura at No. 2 doubles, but the Chaparrals managed narrow victories at No. 3 and No. 1 doubles.
Setti and Earle won their final five completed matches and finished the season with an impressive 17-2 record.
Mattia Ghedin and Kelly Giese, No. 8 in the ITA rankings, edged No. 10-ranked
Juan David Duque and
Bruno Sanchez, 7-5, at No. 1 doubles to secure the point for Lubbock Christian after Marco Seccia and Andr Rossi Principe slipped past
Jack Franklin and Marquez at No. 3 doubles, 6-4.
Marco Seccia won his ninth straight singles match for Lubbock Christian with a 6-1, 6-1 triumph over
Cesar Loeches Llamas at No. 5 singles to give the Chaps a commanding 2-0 lead in the dual match.
Loeches Llamas, a freshman from Madrid, Spain, had a three-match winning streak snapped and fell to 4-4 for the season.
Earle won for the third time in four singles matches, putting the Mustangs on the scoreboard with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Rossi Principe at No. 6 singles. Earle, who transferred to Midwestern State from Washburn, finished his season with a 6-6 record in singles.
Juan David Duque faced Mattia Ghedin for the third time this season at No. 3 singles.
The senior from Colombia won his previous battle with Ghedin, 7-6 (4), 7-5, in the Lone Star Conference Men's Championship final at No. 3 singles. Ghedin won the opening matchup at MSU Tennis Center in April, 6-3, 7-5.
Ghedin won the rubber match in the head-to-head series with a 6-2, 6-4 win to give LCU a 3-1 lead in the South Central Region preliminary dual.
Marquez fought off four match points, but eventually De Los Rios found his way to a straight-set win to clinch the dual-match victory for the Chaparrals.
The marquee matchup at No. 1 singles between No. 18-ranked Setti and No. 4-ranked Giese was an unfinished match after the two stalwarts split sets. Setti won the opening set, 6-4, but Giese rebounded with 6-1 victory in the second set, and the third set was knotted 1-1 when De Los Rios clinched for Lubbock Christian.
Bruno Sanchez split sets with Pablo Segura at No. 2 singles, 6-3, 3-6, but they did not complete the decisive set before the Chaparrals began celebrating their second straight South Central Regional victory in the fourth year of the program.
-- MSUMustangs.com --
