Seniors Primed to Keep Men’s Tennis Atop NAIA in 2025

A quintet of experienced and quality upperclassmen players, mixed with several talented newcomers, has the Georgia Gwinnett College men’s tennis team eager to stay atop the NAIA again this spring.

The No. 1-ranked Grizzlies have won the past 10 national championships and bring a 35-match winning streak into the 2025 season. They had an 18-0 dual match record last year, including a 4-0 victory over Keiser University (Florida) to capture the title.

Leading the way this season will be junior Santiago Villarruel, a double NAIA national champion this past fall by winning the singles and doubles crowns at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Cup. The junior is a two-time NAIA All-American and had a 11-1 record in singles last spring. He’s also a strong doubles player, teaming with senior Jeremias Rocco to win the ITA Cup title. 

Seniors Andoni Garmendia and Aleksandr Kalinin faced the Villarruel-Rocco doubles pairing in the ITA Cup’s championship match and are No. 2 in the ITA’s NAIA national rankings following their initial fall campaign on the court.

Individually, Garmendia won the UTR NAIA Nationals title by edging Kalinin during the tournament’s semifinal round in November.

Kalinin seeks to continue his strong play in his second spring season as a Grizzly, contributing mostly in doubles to GGC’s 2024 NAIA title run. He won a key match on the No. 2 doubles court in the national championship match. The senior posted five victories in singles and doubles last spring.

Adding to the Grizzlies’ deep eight-player lineup is junior Luis Francisco Sampedro, who collected second NAIA All-America team honors in his first season in the program. He won the championship-clinching match point last spring and had a 15-0 record on the No. 4 singles court.

Rocco was a member of last season’s squad, but this spring marks his court debut for the Green and Gray.

Freshman Gian Durrer competed in two fall tournaments in singles draws, winning matches at the ITA South Regional and UTR NAIA Nationals. Joining him in making their initial collegiate season in Lawrenceville are sophomore Kamron McIntosh-Ross and freshman Mateo Larrera.

Georgia Gwinnett College, coached by Hannah Keeling for the third year, is scheduled to open the spring season with a home doubleheader against NCAA Division II Belmont Abbey College (North Carolina) on January 24 at the GGC Tennis Facility, beginning at 11 a.m.