Georgia Gwinnett College men's tennis players swept the 2025 Intercollegiate Tennis Association South Regional singles and doubles titles with victories on Saturday at the GGC Tennis Facility.

RESULTS

Senior Santiago Villarruel was a double regional titlist for the second consecutive season. He defeated GGC senior Luis Francisco Sampedro in the morning's singles final by back-to-back 6-4 set scores.

With the victory, Villarruel has qualified for next month's ITA Cup in Rome, Georgia, to compete for the national organization's NAIA individual championship. He will be defending his 2024 singles national crown.

The Grizzly senior won all five of his singles matches in straight sets over the course of the three-day event.

"This tournament really helps our new players experience the winning mentality that the GGC program has established," said Villarruel. "We lost the team nationals last [spring] and are upset and highly motivated for this year. What happened in the past is done. We're looking forward to putting GGC back on top."

Later, Villarruel teamed with Francisco Sampedro to collect two wins to capture the regional doubles title. The top seed in the draw was playing on court for the first time this weekend after receiving a first-round bye and a walk-off triumph when an opposing player retired due to an injury before a quarterfinal round match.

The duo proceeded to defeat GGC's team of senior Francisco Perez Esnaola and freshman Kanan Gasimov by a 6-3, 6-2 score during the semifinal.

Then, Villarruel and Francisco Sampedro went the distance in the championship match against a pairing from Tennessee Wesleyan University. The Grizzlies jumped out to a fast start, winning the opening set by a 6-1 score. They then rebounded from a 7-5 second-set setback to win a deciding tiebreaker 10-6 for the regional crown.

As champions, the Villarruel-Francisco Sampedro pairing has automatically qualified for the ITA Cup to compete for the NAIA doubles national championship.
 
Coach's Corner
"I'm incredibly proud of this men's team and how the players represented GGC all weekend, played with pride and discipline, with great sportsmanship when facing lots of adversity. Congratulations to Santiago for another men's singles title and Luis for getting to today's finale. I'm super proud of these guys and how they continue to set the bar high. I'm looking forward to seeing them compete for an individual national championship at the ITA Cup," said Head Coach Hannah Keeling.
 
Up Next
Seniors Santiago Villarruel and Luis Francisco Sampedro will represent Georgia Gwinnett College in the ITA Cup on Thursday, October 16, at Rome, Georgia. Tournament pairings in the singles and doubles draw will be announced later.