PLANO, Texas (May 1, 2026) – No. 12 Lubbock Christian University rallied from the brink of elimination Friday afternoon to defeat No. 25 Midwestern State 4-3 in the Lone Star Conference Championships semifinals, advancing to the title match while improving to 20-5 overall. The top-seeded Chaparrals, who entered the postseason after claiming their first LSC regular-season crown, overcame a 3-2 deficit and two matches on the brink to secure their fourth consecutive win over the Mustangs.
Thursday's tournament action was played outdoors in Arlington, Texas (at Arlington Tennis Center), but with rain showers forecasted, half the tournament matches were moved to Ennis, Texas and LCU joined the portion moved to Plano, Texas and indoors to Life Time Athletic, a multi-sport facility.
Midwestern State claimed the early advantage by taking the doubles point, winning in order of finish. The Mustangs struck first at No. 3 with a 6-3 decision, then secured the point at No. 1 as the No. 10-ranked duo of Juan David Duque and Bruno Sanchez defeated the No. 8 tandem of
Mattia Ghedin and No. 4
Kelly Giese 6-4. The No. 2 match, featuring the No. 26 pair of
Andres De Los Rios and
Pablo Segura, was left unfinished with LCU leading 6-5.
LCU responded in singles with a strong start at the bottom of the lineup. No. 31 De Los Rios evened the dual at 1-1 with a convincing 6-0, 6-4 victory at No. 4, and
Marco Seccia followed with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 5 to give the Chaparrals their first lead at 2-1.
Midwestern State answered with back-to-back wins, as No. 45 Sanchez defeated No. 20 Segura 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) at No. 2, and Juan David Duque added a 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 victory over No. 57 Ghedin at No. 3 to put the Mustangs ahead 3-2.
With the match on the line, all attention shifted to the final two courts. At No. 1, No. 4 Giese delivered a clutch performance against No. 18 Germano Setti, rallying for a 6-7, 7-6, 7-5 victory. Facing match point late in the third set with Setti serving at 5-4 (and the game score at deuce 40-40), Giese fought off elimination and won the final three games to level the team score at 3-3 while extending his winning streak to 20 consecutive matches.
Moments later, the deciding point came at No. 6, where
Andrea Rossi Principe completed the comeback with a 6-1, 6-7, 6-4 win. The match was briefly halted and moved outdoors due to facility constraints, but Rossi Principe regrouped and closed out the victory to send LCU into the championship match.
Lubbock Christian's resilience was highlighted by key performances throughout the lineup, including De Los Rios, who secured his sixth consecutive singles win to improve to 29-11, and Seccia, who extended his winning streak to eight matches (15-4 overall, 12-2 in duals). Giese's dramatic comeback at the top of the lineup proved pivotal, improving him to 33-5 overall and 22-1 in dual play while continuing his program-record season.
The Chaparrals, now 4-2 all-time in LSC Championships play and 2-1 against Midwestern State in the tournament, will face No. 6 UT Tyler in Saturday's championship match at Arlington Tennis Center (1 p.m.) as they seek their second consecutive conference tournament title.
