ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. (May 21, 2025) — Fourth-seeded Lubbock Christian continued its historic NCAA postseason run Wednesday afternoon, rallying from an early deficit to take down fifth-seeded Grand Valley State 4-2 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Men's Tennis National Championships at Sanlando Park. The Chaparrals (25-2), a third-year program, punched their first-ever ticket to the national semifinals, set for Friday morning against No. 1 Valdosta State.
The match opened in scorching mid-90s heat, and the early momentum belonged to Grand Valley State (19-3), as the Lakers claimed the doubles point with wins on courts one and three. ITA No. 32-ranked duo Lucas Gonzalez and Victor Lopes notched a 6-3 win over No. 35-ranked
Kelly Giese and
Jordan Georgiev at the top line, while Chimo Minguez and Denys Zamaraiev sealed the point with a 6-3 decision on court three. LCU's lone doubles win came at No. 2, where
Mattia Ghedin and
Marco Seccia dominated 6-2 to keep the Chaps in the fight.
With their backs against the wall, LCU flipped the script in singles behind four straight-set victories. The comeback started on court six, where
Blas Ruiz Romero dispatched Ignasi Garros 6-3, 6-2 to even the match at 1-1. GVSU momentarily regained the lead when Patricio Sepulveda beat Seccia 6-3, 6-4 at line five, but LCU took control from there.
Ghedin pulled the Chaps even again with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Lopes at No. 3, recording his fourth consecutive singles win to move to 21-12 on the season. Just minutes later,
Andres De Los Rios delivered a clinical 6-3, 6-3 win over Jorge Ruiz on court four, pushing LCU ahead 3-2. The clincher came from ITA No. 13-ranked
Pablo Segura, who capped a dominant performance on court two with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph over Gonzalez. It marked Segura's 10th consecutive win and his first career postseason clincher, making him the first player in program history to reach 30 singles wins in a season (30-5 overall, 15-1 at No. 2).
Giese, the ITA's No. 9-ranked player, was locked in a battle at No. 1 against No. 44 Zamaraiev when the match was halted. Giese led 7-6 (8-6), 2-1 in a contest that had potential to stretch deep into a third set.
LCU improved to 3-0 in the 2025 postseason and 3-2 all-time in NCAA tournament play, making the most of its debut at the NCAA final site. The Chaparrals are now 12-1 against nationally ranked opponents and 2-1 against teams ranked inside the ITA top 10. Grand Valley State, which reached the quarterfinals for the first time in program history, saw its 13-match win streak snapped.
Several Chaps played pivotal roles in the two tournament wins leading to the Final Four. Segura has gone 2-0 in singles with one clinch, extending his unbeaten postseason mark to 3-0 in his career. Ghedin and De Los Rios are also 2-0 in singles in Florida, while Ghedin and Seccia have won back-to-back doubles matches. Romero provided key depth with a dominant win at line six in the quarterfinals.
LCU's semifinal opponent, No. 1 Valdosta State, enters Friday's 8 a.m. CT match riding a 40-match win streak and a perfect 24-0 record, as the defending national champions aim for a repeat.
