ARLINGTON, Texas (May 2, 2025)
— No. 2-seeded No.5 Lubbock Christian University punched its ticket to the Lone Star Conference Men's Tennis Championship final with a hard-fought 4-2 victory over No. 3-seed No.46 UT Permian Basin in a semifinal contest that ended 12 hours after its original start time due to rain and storms at the Arlington Tennis Center. The Chaps (21-2) clinched the semifinal dual behind gritty singles play and a dominant showing in doubles, setting up a championship showdown Saturday at 9 a.m. against No. 4-seed Midwestern State, who stunned top-seeded UT Tyler in the other semifinal.
LCU opened the dual in commanding fashion by securing the doubles point with wins on courts three and one.
Pablo Segura and
Andres De Los Rios set the tone with a swift 6-2 victory at line three, followed by No.35
Kelly Giese and
Jordan Georgiev, who toppled UTPB's No. 30 nationally ranked duo of Jonas Krahofer and Jonathan Vega, 6-3 at the top spot. The No. 2 doubles line remained unfinished, with the Chaps trailing 4-5.
Despite falling behind early in singles, LCU showed its resilience. UT Permian Basin (11-7) struck first in singles play with consecutive straight-set wins on courts four and three, as Alejandro Gonzalez and Grzegorz Rudnicki gave the Falcons a brief 2-1 advantage. The tide shifted at line two, where No. 13-ranked Segura rallied after dropping the first set to outlast Lucas Nakasto, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, leveling the match at 2-2.
Marco Seccia delivered a pivotal win for LCU at No. 5 singles, holding off Krahofer in a tense 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 battle to push the Chaps back in front. The clincher came on the top court, where No. 9-ranked Giese edged No. 25-ranked Vega in a tight two-set duel, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), sealing the victory and sending LCU to the championship match.
Vital to the dual were the efforts of Segura, who went undefeated on the day, and Giese, who not only anchored the doubles point but delivered the clinching singles win. The LSC's Player of the Year won his 14
th consecutive singles match and is now 22-7 overall in singles on the season. Segura is also on a win streak, winning his last seven singles matches to increase his team lead in wins with 27 (27-5). Seccia's three-set triumph was also crucial, giving the Chaps the edge in a back-and-forth contest.
The win marked LCU's first LSC Championships victory, as they are 1-2 all-time in the event. LCU, in their third season since the rebirth of the program, will go after their first LSC Championship title Saturday.
