INDIANAPOLIS (May 6, 2024) – The NCAA announced the postseason field of the NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Championships, and No.38 Lubbock Christian University, in their second season of postseason eligibility, was selected to the South Central Regional for a second consecutive season. LCU will head to Tyler, Texas as a No.4-seed and will face No.1-seed No.14 UT Tyler on Monday, May 13 at 2 p.m.
The Chaparrals (18-6) will be seeking their first NCAA postseason win. Last season, LCU fell 4-0 as the No.4-seed at No.1-seed No.12 Cameron in the South Central Regionals. LCU went 5-3 in conference play and claimed their first LSC Championships victory with a 4-3 win over Cameron in the quarterfinals. They lost in the semifinals to No.1-seed No.19 Midwestern State 4-3.
They face a No.19 nationally ranked Patriots squad that is 19-5 and coming off a LSC Championships tournament title. UT Tyler is in their third season of postseason eligibility in NCAA Division II and they are making their third consecutive NCAA postseason appearance at the Division II level. They are 2-0 historically in South Central Regional play, defeating Midwestern State last season 4-1 for a second consecutive trip to the NCAA Round of 16.
The Pats feature Joaquin Bianchi, who carries a No.11 national ranking in singles and is 15-5 against NCAA Division II competition. Egor Shestakov is also nationally ranked at No.50 with a 20-7 record. Shestakov teams with Daniil Felker in doubles to form the No.17 nationally ranked doubles squad. They are 21-6 on the season. Bianchi is also ranked in doubles, teamed with Carel Wessel to form the No.48 nationally ranked squad (14-2).
The Chaps will head to Tyler with five All-Conference selections, led by
Martins Abamu, who is the two-time LSC Sportsmanship Player of the Year. Abamu is a two-time ITA South Central Region singles champion and ITA Cup qualifier. He is ranked No.48 nationally with a 19-13 singles record. He leads LCU in wins against nationally ranked opponents and is 2-5 in those matches.
Pablo Segura is coming off All-Tournament Team honors at the LSC Championships and leads LCU with 26 singles wins (26-5). He heads to Tyler with an 11-match win streak. He is 19-2 in duals and went 8-0 in LSC duals to claim All-Conference accolades.
Mattia Ghedin joins Abamu with 19 wins, as the two seek their 20
th singles win of the season. Ghedin, 19-9, is 16-4 in duals and the LSC Newcomer of the Year is 8-2 in his last 10 singles matches. Abamu is nationally ranked in doubles with two different teammates, ranking No.33 when teamed with
Kelly Giese (4-0) and No.49 when teamed with
Tristan Vigneron (9-6). Abamu/Vigneron are 2-3 against nationally ranked opponents.
Herman Aguirre and Segura have been LCU's most successful doubles tandem, as they have posted 18 wins (18-6) and are 13-5 in duals.
LCU is 0-2 all-time against UT Tyler. The Patriots won the previous meeting this season 4-3, with a win in Lubbock on Apr. 11. UT Tyler had a 4-0 lead in the match before LCU closed the gap winning the final three sets. LCU fell 5-2 on Apr. 9, 2023 in their only prior trip to Tyler.
The winner of Monday's dual will join a field of 16 programs in Altamonte Springs, Fla., which is the final site of the championships. Sanlando Park, where LCU played a pair of March duals, hosts the championships May 21-25.
