Three Georgia Gwinnett College men's tennis players have advanced to the quarterfinal round following strong singles play Thursday in the opening day of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Cup at the Rome Tennis Center in Rome, Georgia.

The Grizzlies collected four overall victories for the day, with a doubles pairing also being victorious during Round of 16 action.

DRAWS
    
Senior Santiago Villarruel cruised in his opening match, defeating Ivan Vazuez from Xavier University of Louisiana by 6-3, 6-0 scores. The tournament draw's top seed and defending NAIA singles national champion advances to face Arizona Christian University's Hugo Abril in the quarterfinal round on Friday, October 17, starting at 9 a.m.

Senior Luis Francisco Sampedro, the No. 3 seed, also won in straight sets in a Round of 16 match by identical 6-2 set scores against Santiago Sarudiansky of Huntington University (Indiana). He will now face Lev Sholosh of Lindsey Wilson University (Kentucky) in Friday's quarterfinal round.

Meanwhile, senior Francisco Perez Esnaola continued GGC's strong singles play with a hard-fought three-set triumph against Indiana Wesleyan University's Matheus Lima. The tournament's No. 4 seed won the opening set by a 6-2 score before Lima evened the match with a 6-4 victory in second set. However, Perez Esnaola battled to come out oni top in the third set, pulling away for a 6-3 triumph. The victory advanced him to face Xavier's Nereo Suarez in the quarterfinal round.

In doubles, the No. 2 seeded Villarruel-Francisco Sampedro tandem picked up a straight-set 6-3, 6-4 victory against a pairing from Our Lady of the Lake University (Texas). The duo advances to face Arizona Christian's Lennert Lemathieu and Abril in the quarterfinal round on Friday, starting at 3 p.m.

Meanwhile, the team of freshman Kanan Gasimov and Perez Esnaola dropped a 6-2, 6-4 Round of 16 match to a team from Holy Cross College (Indiana).

The ITA Cup will crown individual national champions crowned in singles and doubles on Sunday, October 19.
 
Coach's Corner
"It was a solid start, with all of our players getting through to the quarterfinal in singles. Expectations are to build and step up tomorrow. Santiago and Luis continued that momentum through in doubles. They have amazing chemistry on the court together and they continue to grow with each match. I'm looking forward to seeing how we compete again tomorrow," said Head Coach Hannah Keeling.
 
Up Next
Georgia Gwinnett College players are scheduled to play quarterfinal round matches in singles and doubles at the ITA Cup on Friday, October 17, at the Rome Tennis Center, starting at 9 a.m.