ROME, Ga. — No. 4 Southeastern Men's Tennis opened its 2026 campaign in impressive fashion Friday morning, defeating No. 7 Holy Cross, 4–1, in the quarterfinals of the ITA Indoor Nationals at the Rome Tennis Center. The victory moves the Fire to 1–0 on the young season and into the national semifinals of one of the NAIA's premier early-season events.
Holy Cross grabbed the early edge by claiming the doubles point. The Saints earned wins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles to take a 1–0 lead, though SEU's duo of
Pedro De La Riva and Gonzalo Ornia kept things tight with a strong 6–2 win at the No. 3 position. Despite trailing after doubles, the Fire quickly reset heading into singles play.
Southeastern's depth proved to be the difference once singles began. Gonzalo Ornia delivered the first spark, dominating his No. 4 singles match with a flawless 6–0, 6–0 victory to level the team score. His commanding performance shifted the momentum squarely in SEU's favor and energized the Fire lineup.
Aristeidis Lafazanos followed with a composed 6–4, 6–1 win at No. 6 singles, giving Southeastern a 2–1 advantage.
Javier Gallego then pushed the Fire within one point of victory at No. 2 singles, grinding out a 7–5 first set before taking control in the second for a 6–2 finish.
The clinching point came at the top of the lineup, where
Piero Fernandez showcased poise under pressure. In a tightly contested battle featuring two tiebreak-level sets, Fernandez secured a 7–6 (7-3), 6-1 victory to seal the 4–1 team win and punch SEU's ticket to the semifinals.
With the team result decided, the remaining matches at No. 3 and No. 5 singles were left unfinished.
The Fire now turn their attention to a marquee semifinal showdown against No. 2 Georgia Gwinnett on Saturday at 11 a.m.
