A pair of Georgia Gwinnett College men's tennis doubles teams collected Round of 16 victories to lead Friday's action for the Grizzlies at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's South Regional at the GGC Tennis Facility.

DRAWS: SINGLES | DOUBLES

The top-seeded pairing of senior Jeremias Rocco and junior Santiago Villarruel recorded an 8-3 triumph against a doubles team from Montreat College (North Carolina). Then, the duo of seniors Aleksandr Kalinin and Jose Garmendia, the No. 4 seeded team, were also victorious by an 8-3 score over a pair from SCAD Atlanta. Those victories have advanced both teams to the quarterfinal round of the opening competition of the fall season.

In singles, Villarruel was victorious twice on Friday to claim a spot in the semifinals. He opened with a 6-1, 6-1 victory against Montreat's Daniel Garcia. Villarruel then defeated freshman GGC teammate Gian Durrer by a 6-1, 6-2 score during the afternoon wave of matches.

Durrer had outlasted Tennessee Wesleyan University's Agustin Gaia in a three-set Round of 16 match, winning the third set tiebreaker by a 10-2 score. The Grizzly had won the opening set by a 6-4 score.

Rocco had a three-set victory to reach the quarterfinals, defeating Asier Pascual of Tennessee Wesleyan by 6-2, 6-7 (5), 10-6 before falling in three competitive sets to top seed Octavio Volpi of TWU by 2-6, 6-1, 10-8 scores.

Garmendia, the tournament's No. 3 seed, also advanced to the quarterfinals behind a 7-5, 6-4 win against TWU's Diego Blanco Goytia in the morning portion. He later lost in straight sets (6-3, 6-2) to Middle Georgia State University's Daniel Garcia.

Kalinin nearly completed a dramatic upset in singles, eventually losing a three-set thriller to No. 4 seed David Leon (6-3, 0-6, 11-9) in Friday's Round of 16 play.

Quarterfinal matches in doubles are scheduled on Saturday, September 21, beginning at 8 a.m. Singles play is set to start at 9:30 a.m.
 
Coach's Corner
"Today was strong for our teams in doubles. We're always looking to improve ourselves and we know that our singles performance overall today could have been much better. However, I have no doubt moving forward, with more matches, that we will succeed. Santiago had an exceptional day and is ready for his singles semifinal match," said Head Coach Hannah Keeling.
 
Up Next
Georgia Gwinnett College players are scheduled to continue play in the ITA South Regional on Saturday, September 21. Singles and doubles matches will start at 8 a.m. at the GGC Tennis Facility.