Mobile, AL – In a thrilling conclusion to the 2025 NAIA Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships, the Georgia Gwinnett College women’s tennis team and the Keiser University men’s tennis team each were the last left standing in the Battle For The Red Banner, each taking home national championships on Saturday.
Marking the ninth consecutive national championship for Georgia Gwinnett women’s team and the first national championship for the Keiser men’s team, each victor had different routes to the title but both poured everything they had into over three hour battles in the warm weather at the Mobile Tennis Center.
Beginning with the women’s final, it was once again a battle between Georgia Gwinnett and Keiser for the title. However, it was Keiser who came into the match as the No. 1 seeded team and with a victory already over Georgia Gwinnett at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship back in February.
In doubles, the Grizzlies came out firing with a 6-4 win at the No. 1 doubles position as Isid Hernandez and Justine Lespes teamed up to take down Patricia Apisah and Violet Apisah. Needing one more victory to give the Grizzlies an early lead, sights then turned to court No. 3 where the freshman duo of MaryLove Edwards and Elizabet Verizova won 7-5 over Liza Velykorodna and Vanja Vidanovic.
Moving to singles, Georgia Gwinnett was able to keep the momentum rolling earning straight set wins at the No. 2, No. 4, and No. 6 singles position to clinch the 4-1 match victory over the Seahawks. The victory marked seven straight finals in which the Grizzlies have defeated the Seahawks, while the national championship marks the tenth in program history for Georgia Gwinnett.
Now with all sights set on the men’s championship, Keiser and Georgia Gwinnett were squaring off in the final for the fourth straight national championship as Keiser entered as the No. 3 seed while Georgia Gwinnett entered as the No. 1 seed.
Doubles play saw the Grizzlies earn wins on courts No. 1 and No. 2 to take the early lead over the Seahawks. Understanding the urgency, Keiser regrouped quickly and turned their sites to singles where they would rely on a big push from the bottom of the lineup to get back into the match.
Earning the Seahawks first singles point was Gilad Tamar who won 6-4, 6-2 at the No. 5 singles position. Shortly after, Heber Santos and Mathieu Strauss both earned wins at the No. 6 and No. 4 singles positions to give Keiser the 3-1 lead in the match.
After Santiago Villarruel won on court No. 2 to make it 3-2 overall, the match came down to two third sets on courts No. 1 and No. 3 to decide the match.
Ultimately, Yassir Kilani defeated Luis Francisco 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3 at the No. 1 position to claim the title for Keiser. This marked Keiser’s first NAIA National Championship in program history and snapped the Grizzlies ten straight titles at the championship.
Continue reading below to see the full match results from each championship match:
Women’s Final
Doubles #1: Hernandez/Lespes (GGC) def. Apisah/Apisah (KU) 6-4
Doubles #2: de Mooij/Mercante (KU) def. Ilie/Melnikova (GGC) 7-5
Doubles #3: Edwards/Verizova (GGC) def. Velykorodna/Vidanovic (KU) 7-5
Singles #1: Violet Apisah (KU) vs Justine Lespes (GGC), 6-2, 2-6, 4-3 (unf)
Singles #2: Alexandra Melinikova (GGC) def. Cato Tangkau (KU), 6-4, 6-2
Singles #3: MaryLove Edwards (GGC) vs Eloise de Mooij (KU), 7-5, 3-3 (unf)
Singles #4: Diana Ilie (GGC) def. Liza Velykorodna (KU), 7-5, 6-1
Singles #5: Isabella Mercante (KU) def. Isid Hernandez (GGC), 6-4, 6-1
Singles #6: Elizabet Verizova (GGC) def. Vanja Vidanovic (KU), 6-3, 6-0
Men’s Final
Doubles #1: Rocco/Villarruel (GGC) def. Santos/Tamar (KU) 6-3
Doubles #2: Francisco/Kalinin (GGC) def. Kilani/Strauss (KU) 6-3
Doubles #3: Alam/Boscatto (KU) def. Garmendia/Mcintosh-Ross (GGC) 6-1
Singles #1: Yassir Kilani (KU) def Lius Francisco (GGC), 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3
Singles #2: Santiago Villarruel (GGC) def. Shaheed Alam (KU), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
Singles #3: Felipe Rivadeneira (KU) vs Aleksandr Kalinin (GGC), 1-6, 7-5, 6-5 (unf)
Singles #4: Mathieu Strauss (KU) def. Andoni Garmendia (GGC), 7-6 (4), 7-5
Singles #5: Gilad Tamar (KU) def. Kamron Mcintosh-Ross (GGC), 6-4, 6-2
Singles #6: Heber Santos (KU) def. Mateo Larrea (GGC), 7-5, 6-4
