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SEU vs GGC at Nationals
ITA Tennis
0
Southeastern University SEUM25 (18-3)
4
Winner Georgia Gwinnett College GGCM25 (19-2)
Southeastern University SEUM25
(18-3)
0
Final
4
Georgia Gwinnett College GGCM25
(19-2)
Winner

Match Recap: Men's Tennis | | Christopher Myers

Historic Run Ends for Fire in National Semifinals Against No. 1 Georgia Gwinnett

MOBILE, Ala. – It took the nation's top-ranked team and defending champions to end Southeastern University's postseason run. The Fire men's tennis team made program history by reaching the NAIA National Semifinals, but fell 4-0 in a hard-fought battle against No. 1 Georgia Gwinnett on Friday afternoon.

SEU started the semifinal in electrifying fashion, pulling off a major upset at No. 1 doubles. Piero Fernandez and Diego Menendez stunned the Grizzlies' top-ranked pair of Santiago Villarruel and Jermias Rocco with a 6-3 victory—the Fire duo's biggest win of the year.

Georgia Gwinnett answered by taking the second doubles match and edging out a 7-6 (7-3) tiebreaker win in the third to clinch the team doubles point. The Grizzlies then added wins at fifth singles and two more competitive singles matches to seal the overall victory.

Despite the defeat, the 2025 campaign was a record-setting season for the Fire. SEU finished with an 18-3 overall record—its best in program history—and secured a third-straight 18-win season. Over the past three years, the Fire are 54-15 (.783) and have posted back-to-back perfect home records, including an 8-0 mark this spring.

Several individual accolades are expected to follow. The Fernandez/Menendez doubles team reached a program-best No. 2 national ranking, while Menendez tied the program record as the No. 4-ranked singles player in the NAIA. Both are strong candidates for upcoming ITA NAIA All-American honors.

Match Recap:

  • Doubles:

    • No. 1: Fernandez/Menendez (SEU) def. Villarruel/Rocco (GG), 6-3

    • No. 2: Sampedro/Kalinin (GG) def. Gallego/Gonzalo Fernandez (SEU), 6-2

    • No. 3: McIntosh-Ross/Garmendia (GG) def. Griffin/Orihuela (SEU), 7-6 (7-3)

  • Singles:

    • No. 5: McIntosh-Ross (GG) def. Griffin (SEU), 6-2, 6-1

    • No. 3: Kalinin (GG) def. Orihuela (SEU), 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)

    • No. 2: Villarruel (GG) def. Menendez (SEU), 7-6 (7-3), 6-1

    • Unfinished:

      • No. 1: P. Fernandez (SEU) led Sampedro (GG), 6-3, 6-6

      • No. 4: Garmendia (GG) led Gallego (SEU), 3-6, 0-6, 5-1

      • No. 6: G. Fernandez (SEU) led Larrea (GG) 7-6 (7-3), 4-5

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