LUBBOCK, Texas (March 28, 2023) - The Lubbock Christian University men's tennis team dropped four singles matches in the third set, preventing them from pulling off an upset over No.27 Midwestern State, as they fell 5-2 Tuesday afternoon at Penny Gullo Tennis Center.

LCU had momentum heading into the singles play after claiming the 1-0 duals lead from winning two-of-three doubles matches. Kelly Giese / Braden Tipton pulled off a huge upset to open the doubles, as the Giese and Tipton claimed the No.1 doubles win (6-2) over No.13 Marcal Miret / Germano Setti. The unranked LCU squad improved to 11-5 as a team and their fourth consecutive win (2-0 in conference) is now 7-3 in duals play and 2-0 against nationally ranked duals squads.
 
The Chaps doubles squad (No.2) of Martins Abamu / Herman Aguirre won clinched the doubles point with a spirited 7-5 win. The tandem was making their LSC debut (1-0) and they are 3-1 in doubles in duals matches this season.  
 
The excitement wore off, as LCU's Abamu (No.1) Giese (No.2), Herman (No.3) and Nikita Deev (No.4) each fell in three sets. Abamu, Herman and Deev each fell after winning the opening set of their match to add to the team's frustration of how close they were to pulling off an upset (Abamu fell 7-6 in his second set). LCU's lone singles win was by Tipton, who overcame a tie-breaker loss in the opening set, but responded by winning the following two sets. Tipton was playing his first No.6 singles match of the season.

LCU was playing their first match of the season against a nationally ranked team. The Chaps have a 7-6 record in duals and they fall to 1-1 in Lone Star Conference duals. They remain at home Friday, as they host UT Permian Basin at 11 a.m. at Penny Gullo Tennis Center.