MOBILE, Ala.- Georgia Gwinnett returned to the top and tied a tournament record Saturday with a 4-0 final-round victory against Tennessee Wesleyan in the 74th annual UTR Sports NAIA Men’s Tennis National Championship.
The Grizzlies (25-0 and the No. 1 seed) won the championship for the 11th time in 12 seasons, and they tied Redlands (Calif.) for the most NAIA titles in this sport. The Bulldogs won their titles from 1954-80 — 9-of-10 from 1966-75 — under a format where teams earned points for singles and doubles victories. The current format, dual matches in a 24-team bracket, began in 2000.
Georgia Gwinnett earned both major individual post-match honors. Senior Luis Francisco Sampedro of Palma de Mallorca, Spain, received the Ward-Bollinger Outstanding Player award — he was 2-0 in singles and, with Santiago Villarruel, 4-0 in doubles this week — and Tom Rees was named NAIA National Coach of the Year.
Georgia Gwinnett won the doubles point, then won three times in singles. Freshman Yerassyl Yerdilda clinched at No. 3 with a 6-1, 6-3 victory against Chanon Phunsawat.
“I inherited a team that was in a little bit of disarray,” said Rees, who became head coach of Gwinnett’s men and women in mid-November after serving as associate women’s head coach at NCAA Division I Clemson in 2025 and 2024. “We brought in three new guys on the men’s side. Tried to bring some stability, come together quickly. We came from all different backgrounds, different schools and transfers. But we were united by one goal. That goal was the greatest motivation — to bring the title back home.”
Villarruel, a three-year NAIA All-American, gave the Grizzlies a 2-0 lead when he defeated Lucas Grana 6-0, 6-2 at No. 1, then freshman Kanan Gasimov improved to 3-0 this week at No. 6 with his 6-2, 6-2 victory against Lucas Perez.
Gian Durrer and Francisco Perez Esnaola clinched the doubles point on court two with their 6-4 decision against Agustin Gaia and Mario Monclus.
Francisco Sampedro and Villarruel, No. 1 in the ITA/NAIA doubles rankings, won 6-1 against Grana and Perez.
Tennessee Wesleyan’s only victory was at No. 3 doubles, where David Leon and Serafin Zund defeated Juan Carlos Garcia and and Yerdilda 6-2.
The Grizzlies won an NAIA-record 10 consecutive national titles from 2014-2024 — the 2020 tournament was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic — then lost 4-2 to Keiser (Fla.) in the 2025 final.
Tennessee Wesleyan, the No. 2 seed, lost for the first time in 18 matches and finished 22-3.
Notes:
• Georgia Gwinnett is 47-1 all-time in the tournament (2014-19, 2021-present). The Grizzlies are 284-6 over the last 13 seasons.
• This is the 10th time in 13 seasons that the Grizzlies finished unbeaten. Georgia Gwinnett was 27-0 in 2019 and 2018 and 26-0 in 2016.
• It was the second time that Georgia Gwinnett and Tennessee Wesleyan met in the final. The Grizzlies won 4-0 in 2023.
• In No. 1 vs. 2 matchups, No. 1 seeds are 10-5 and won the last seven times. A No. 2 seed has not defeated a No. 1 since 2010.
• The Grizzlies’ Villarruel and Francisco Sampredo won their final 15 doubles matches.
