The top-seeded Georgia Gwinnett College men's tennis team picked up a dominant 4-0 victory against No. 17 St. Thomas University (Florida) in the second round of the 2026 UTR Sports NAIA National Championship on Wednesday morning at the Mobile (Alabama) Tennis Center.
The Grizzlies (22-0) grabbed early momentum in the match behind strong doubles play. The top-ranked senior duo of
Santiago Villarruel and
Luis Francisco Sampedro won six of their seven games on the No. 1 court.
Senior
Francisco Perez Esnaola and sophomore
Gian Durrer clinched the doubles point, for the 1-0 advantage in the dual match, behind a 6-4 victory on the No. 2 court.
GGC then won the opening set in five of the six singles matches.
Francisco Sampedro gave the Grizzlies a 2-0 advantage, winning by identical 6-1 set scores on the No. 2 court.
Freshman
Luka Vuglar also was victorious by 6-1, 6-1 scores at No. 5 singles. Junior
Kanan Gasimov secured the match victory with a 6-2, 6-1 triumph on the No. 6 court.
The Grizzlies have a 44-1 record all-time in NAIA postseason action and have won 10 national titles.
GGC will play No. 8 seed University of the Cumberlands (Kentucky) in the quarterfinals on Thursday, May 14, starting at 9 a.m. central time.
Coach's Corner
"The goal was to get through the match as fast and healthy as possible and we did just that. St. Thomas is a good team and they started well in doubles. I'm pleased our guys were able to weather the early storm and take control of the match. We played some great tennis by dictating play on all of the courts," said Head Coach
Tom Rees.
Up Next
Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to face No. 8 seed University of the Cumberlands (Kentucky) in the quarterfinal round of the 2026 UTR Sports NAIA National Championship tournament on Thursday, May 14, at the Mobile (Alabama) Tennis Center, starting at 9 a.m. central time.
