OVERLAND PARK, KS. – The 2024 ITA NAIA Men’s and Women’s National Team Indoor Championships came to a close yesterday as Georgia Gwinnett College captured its first ITA NAIA National Team Indoor Championship titles on both the men’s and women’s side of play.
In a matchup of the nation’s top two ranked NAIA teams, and a rematch of the 2023 Men’s NAIA National Championship match, the Grizzlies would battle it out once again with Tennessee Wesleyan to decide yet another national championship. Getting off to a quick start, Georgia Gwinnett took the lead into singles play after wins on courts No. 1 and No. 3 in doubles play.
In singles play, the Grizzlies kept the momentum on their side, winning the opening set on four of the six courts. Freshman Luis Francisco Sampedro made it 2-0 with a 6-3, 6-3 win at the No. 4 position before Alex Gurmendi brought the Grizzlies within one point of the title with a 6-3, 6-2 win at the No. 1 position.
Tennessee Wesleyan found their first and only point of the day with a win at the No. 5 position but not long after, it was senior Mihailo Radosavljevic who capped off the match and secured the title for Georgia Gwinnett with a 7-6(6) second set win.
For the top-seeded Grizzlies, they return home with three top-ten wins, and another trophy to add to their already large collection. Following the historic win, Georgia Gwinnett improves to 237-4 in all competitions over their 12 seasons as a program.
In the second championship match of the day, the Georgia Gwinnett women’s team capped off their strong weekend at the ITA NAIA National Team Indoor Championships with a convincing 4-1 victory against the third-seeded Xavier (La.).
The Grizzlies gained early control of the match with Angel Carney and Teodora Jovic winning 6-1 at the No. 3 doubles spot before Stephanie Fernandez served out the match at the No. 1 doubles position with partner Iryna Lysykh to secure the doubles point.
Heading into singles, the Grizzlies continued to control the match winning the first set on five of the six courts. Fernandez picked up the first singles win at the No. 5 singles position before Carol Mora won 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 6 singles position.
Kyra Akinnaibi would give Xavier their lone point of the day with a victory at the No. 3 singles position, although the attempted comeback was short-lived as Justine Lespes defeated Mbali Langa at the No. 1 position to secure the match
Fans can find all the information and results from the ITA NAIA National Men’s and Women’s Team Indoor Championships right here on the ITA website or on the ITA social media channels (@ITA_Tennis on Instagram and X).
Day Two Results – Men
Finals
#1 Georgia Gwinnett vs. #2 Tennessee Wesleyan 4-1
3rd Place
#5 Westcliff def. #3 Northwestern Ohio 4-3
5th Place
#6 William Woods def. #4 Southeastern 4-2
7th Place
#7 Xavier (La.) def. #8 Coastal Georgia 4-1
Day Two Results – Women
Finals
#1 Georgia Gwinnett def. #3 Xavier (La.) 4-1
3rd Place
#2 Southeastern def. #4 Tennessee Wesleyan 4-2
5th Place
#6 St.Thomas def. #8 William Woods 4-3
7th Place
#7 William Carey def. #5 Ave Maria 4-0
