Experienced Men’s Tennis Poised to Return Atop NAIA in 2026

Four experienced and talented seniors lead a highly motivated Georgia Gwinnett College men’s tennis team that’s striving to return the program to their familiar place atop the NAIA this spring. 

The Grizzlies are in the unfamiliar position of being underdogs after losing to Keiser University (Florida) in the championship match of last year’s NAIA tournament – breaking a string of 10 straight titles. This year’s team was ranked No. 2 in the NAIA preseason poll.

Seniors Santiago Villarruel and Luis Francisco Sampedro bring multiple years of experience as GGC players, while classmates Francisco Perez Esnaola and Juan Carlos Garcia seek to make important contributions as they close out their collegiate careers.

The anticipation is high for the spring season after GGC players won the NAIA singles and doubles national titles at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Cup during the fall portion of the 2025-26 season. Villarruel repeated as the singles champion and teamed with Francisco Sampedro to capture the doubles crown.

Villarruel earned first NAIA All-America team honors last spring after being the ITA's top player nationally in singles and doubles, posting a 12-2 singles record. He won all seven matches on the No. 3 court and was 5-0 in No. 2 singles matches.

Meanwhile, Francisco Sampedro and Perez Esnaola are ranked among the nation’s top 10 players in singles. Perez Esnaola was a seeded singles player at the ITA Cup. He arrives at GGC after being ranked among the NAIA’s top five players by the ITA while competing at the University of Northwestern Ohio. Carlos Garcia transferred from Tennessee Wesleyan University, a perennial top-five NAIA contender.

“I’m a firm believer that the best teams have leadership from within,” stated Rees. “I think we have one of the more veteran rosters among NAIA teams and with that comes better levels of maturity, wisdom, experience from lessons learned, and a general level of motivation to continue our past success.”

The 2026 GGC team has quality young players as well.

Junior Kanan Gasimov competed with Perez Esnaola in the doubles draw at the ITA Cup after the team’s strong fall campaign. Sophomore Gian Durrer was victorious in all three matches on the No. 6 singles court during the 2025 season. Durrer also picked up a straight-set victory against top-10 Xavier University of Louisiana and later defeated an opponent from NCAA Division I The Citadel (South Carolina) a year ago.

Sophomore Nahuel Fernandez and freshmen Luka Vuglar and Yerassyl Yerdilda also join the Grizzlies for the 2026 season.

“Since we’re new to the program, the staff and I focused the preseason on learning about the players and how they like to play, while refining the process of achieving our goals for the season ahead. There’s nothing like learning through competition,” Rees remarked. 

The learning process begins as Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to open the season with a dual match at NCAA Division II Lander University (South Carolina) on Thursday, January 22.