Service Aces

The list of Georgia Gwinnett College men’s tennis players ranking among the nation’s best singles players during the past 14 springs reads like a Who’s Who list within NAIA tennis.

Trailblazers like Kevin Konfederak and Jordan Cox were followed by distinguished Green and Gray alumni Dkakshineswar Suresh, Alex Gurmendi, Valentino Caratini, and Federico Herrera Duran in earning No. 1 honors in singles and doubles – or both – since the program began in the 2012-13 season.

In fact, 10 different GGC players have been atop the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s NAIA singles or doubles national rankings during the last decade; the Grizzlies have had the nation’s best singles player and doubles team for the past nine NAIA polls; and the program has had the top-ranked doubles pairing each year during this decade – a span of 26 straight polls.

That has helped Georgia Gwinnett College capture 10 NAIA national championships since 2014 – and possibly another this spring.

Senior Santiago Villarruel now tops the nation’s singles (with an 8-1 record) and doubles rankings (13-1 mark), and hopes to lead this year’s No. 1-ranked and undefeated team to national title next month. 

The native of Benito Juarez, Argentia, has won back-to-back ITA NAIA singles national titles and captured three straight NAIA doubles national titles at the ITA Cup – each year with a different partner: Gurmendi in 2023, Jeremias Rocco in 2024, and senior Luis Francisco Sampedro this past fall. 

“Every partner is different, so I adapt to that player. It is also important that we have good chemistry on the court,” adds Villarruel, who has played with two different partners during his senior season: Francisco Sampedro (having a 12-1 record) and junior Kanan Gasimov (1-0). 

Francisco Sampedro gives the Grizzlies a strong 1-2 punch in singles and doubles play during their dual matches. He has a 12-1 singles mark playing on the No. 1 or No. 2 courts this spring.

The fine play of Villarruel and Francisco Sampedro, combined with several other strong players, is one reason GGC won the ITA’s NAIA indoor national championship earlier this season. The team has been ranked No. 1 nationally throughout the spring season.

“I’m really pleased with my play this year. We have a great team, with our undefeated record (21-0) and indoor national title. We have to keep pushing to end our careers in a perfect way,” said Francisco Sampedro, who played a key role in the program’s 2024 NAIA national championship.

Both GGC players would be the first to attest that the No. 1 rankings in singles and doubles haven’t come easily. Villarruel, the ITA Cup’s top seeded singles player, had to come back from a 5-7 first set loss to win by 7-5 and 6-0 scores against No. 2 seed Shaheed Alam of Keiser (Florida).

Then, the Villarruel-Francisco Sampedro tandem, the tournament’s No. 2 doubles seed, dug down deep to force a deciding third set before defeating Keiser’s top-seeded team by 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 scores.

It is times like those that there’s a true partnership on the court between the two GGC players.

“When the match gets tight, we are more confident because we have the top ranking and just feel like we are the better team. The opponent starts to doubt themselves that they can actually do it,” states Francisco Sampedro, who has won 82 matches and stands 44-4 in singles over the last three seasons.

Villarruel adds, “The match could be 3-3 or 4-4 and we stay aggressive in those moments. Sometimes, keep things simple is an element of success in those important moments.”

However, both players are ready to defend their national No. 1 rankings when the 2026 NAIA Championship tournament begins May 12 in Mobile, Alabama. They also know, along with first-year Head Coach Tom Rees, that the team’s success – as singles players and doubles teams – won’t come without strong efforts and teamwork.

Like Santiago Villarruel and Luis Francisco Sampedro.