Men’s Tennis’ Top Contributors Seeking More Spring Success

The NAIA’s top-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College men’s tennis team has several talented players that are ready to meet whatever challenges await in a 2024 season that the Grizzlies hope culminates with another national championship.

That’s what GGC did last year when the squad swept four matches without dropping a point in capturing the national title with a 22-1 record. 

A new season begins Sunday, January 28, against NCAA Division II Lander University (South Carolina).

That match will get the Grizzlies primed to compete in the ITA NAIA Indoor National Championship from February 2-4. Then, the team host the Grizzly Invitational from February 9-11 to open the home schedule.

Back for more success is senior Alex Gurmendi, a three-time first NAIA All-America team member and two-time Ward-Ballinger Outstanding Player at the NAIA national championship tournament. He finished the 2023 spring season as the NAIA’s top-ranked singles and doubles player.   

The Buenos Aires, Argentina, native has a 65-4 career record in singles while being 53-2 in doubles – helping GGC to three straight NAIA national titles.

Classmate Aleksa Ciric is coming off a strong fall season in which he reached the singles final of ITA Cup and Grizzly Invitational. He also was a singles semifinalist at the ITA South Regional. The Bela Palanka, Serbia, native had a 7-3 record in singles, including a 5-1 mark on the No. 4 court, to earn second NAIA All-America team honors. 

Sophomore Santiago Villarruel teamed with Gurmendi to win the NAIA doubles national title last fall, along with capturing the ITA Cup’s Doubles Super Bowl. The left-handed player from Benito Juarez, Argentina, won all 17 of his 2023 singles matches, with a 7-0 record in No. 4 court matches. Villarruel also showcased his versatility by picking up wins for the team on the No. 3, No. 5 and No. 6 singles courts. He also went 13-3 in doubles action during his first collegiate season.

Senior Charly Zick also enters his second spring campaign as a Grizzly and provides valuable depth to the singles lineup. He earned honorable mention NAIA All-America team accolades after winning seven of his eight singles matches in 2023. The Munich, Germany, native posted a 4-0 mark in matches on the No. 5 court.

Seniors Julius Kaufmann and Mihailo Radosavljevic each made significant contributions to the doubles and singles lineups. Kaufmann had a 5-1 record in doubles during a 2023 season in which he also earned Academic All-District team honors by College Sports Communicators. Radosavljevic had a 6-1 singles record.

Sophomore Matthew Jezyk adds depth to the lineup and will compete for an increased role this spring. He had strong play at ITA South Regional during the fall season.

Newcomers hoping to contribute this spring are sophomores Luis Francisco Sampredo and Aleksandr Kalinin.