Senior Alex Gurmendi led the NAIA's top-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College men's tennis to a 4-2 victory over No. 8 William Carey University (Mississippi) on Thursday morning to begin the Grizzly Spring Break Invitational at the GGC Tennis Facility.

Gurmendi teamed with sophomore Santiago Villarruel to capture the doubles-clinching point with a 6-3 victory on the No. 1 court. The team's top-ranked doubles team has won all nine of its matches in 2024.

The senior then won a straight-set singles match by 6-2, 6-1 scores on the No. 1 court to give GGC a commanding 3-0 dual-match lead. Gurmendi improved his record to 8-1 in singles action this spring.

In other doubles action, senior Aleksa Ciric and sophomore Luis Francisco Sampedro combined for a 6-2 triumph at No. 3 court. William Carey then scored a 6-2 win of its own on the No. 2 court before the Gurmendi-Villarruel victory wrapped up the early match point.

GGC took a 2-0 advantage after Francisco Sampedro registered a 6-2, 6-1 victory at No. 4 singles. Gurmendi's singles triumph moved the Grizzlies to one point from the win.

The visiting Crusaders recorded consecutive 6-4, 6-2 victories at No. 2 and No. 6 singles to trim the deficit to 3-2.

However, Villarruel closed out the challenging match with a 6-3, 6-4 win on the No. 5 court for his fifth singles win of the season.
  Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to host Indiana Wesleyan University on Friday, March 8, at the GGC Tennis Facility, starting at noon.