AZUSA, Calif. – Two of the top-10 teams in NCAA Division II according to the ITA rankings squared off on Saturday afternoon with No. 4 Lubbock Christian visiting No. 7 Azusa Pacific, and the nearly four-hour match tilted in favor of Lubbock Christian, 4-3, at the Munson & Bavougian Tennis Complex.
Azusa Pacific led 3-1 with three singles matches going to a deciding third set, but all three sets went in favor of the Chaparrals, who came from behind for a dramatic 4-3 win. With the loss, the Cougars drop to 10-3 on the season, losing a regular season match to an NCAA Division II opponent for the first time in 714 days. Lubbock Christian improves to 11-1 after the come-from-behind win.
The Cougars got off to a strong start, taking the doubles point. No. 24
Elias Emilio Walter and
Soeren Grandke continued their success as a new team, winning 6-2 over No. 32 Kelly Giese and Blas Ruiz. Then the doubles point was clinched when
Joan Crespo and
Miha Velicki won their set in a tiebreaker 7-6(2). They snapped a six-match winning streak for the Chaps' No. 3 doubles team which hadn't lost at the No. 3 position so far this season.
While LCU took No. 6 singles, the Cougars added to their leads with wins from Walter and Crespo in singles. Crespo cruised to victory with a 6-3, 6-0 win at No. 5 singles. This was his second win in a row in which he took the second set at love.
Walter won a battle of nationally-ranked singles players. Walter is No. 34 in the nation and he dominated No. 19 Pablo Segura, 6-3, 6-1. This was Walter's first win this season against a nationally-ranked opponent and his fifth-straight win in straight sets.
The Cougars led by a set at No. 2 singles and No. 4 singles, while
Miha Velicki came back to win his second set and force a deciding set. However, a trio of Chaps, Mattia Ghedin, Kelly Giese, and Andres de los Rios all came back to win their third sets. They are the first NCAA Division II team to defeat the Cougars in a regular season match since Point Loma won 6-1 on April 1, 2023.
Saturday's match was the first of four matches in six days for the Cougars, who will be busy in the coming days. They will face Chicago on Monday, Hawai`i Hilo on Tuesday, and Colorado Mesa on Thursday. All of the matches will be played at the Cougar Tennis Complex.
