LAKELAND, Fla. - UWF men's and women's tennis took part in the ITA South Regional Championships from Sunday to Wednesday this week hosted by Florida Southern.
Sebastian Rondon and
Diego Duran advanced to the men's open doubles final today, where they took down Luis Iriarte and Eduardo Cohen of Saint Leo 6-2, 6-1 to claim tops in the South Region and advance to the ITA Cup next week.
In the Round of 32 to open the tournament on Sunday, the duo went against Alvaro Diaz Rodrigo and Wilson Igbinovia of Embry-Riddle and came out on top 8-5. Next, Rondon and Duran earned what the team hopes will be a harbinger of GSC play this spring as they defeated Edgar Destouet and Arthur Bord of Valdosta State 8-6 on Monday. In the quarterfinals on Tuesday, the two claimed another win against Peitro Cappellaro and Pete Tran of Rollins by an 8-4 score, who had taken down a team from host FSC in the Round of 16.
Waiting for them in the semifinals was Kodai Kato and Jose David Sergio Perez of Saint Leo, the first of two Lions doubles teams they would face on their way to hosting the trophy. In another tight matchup, Rondon and Duran came out victorious 8-6 before meeting up with Iriarte and Cohen on Wednesday morning. The second pairing was coming off an impressive semifinals victory themselves, having taken down Takeshi Taco and Xaveam Van Wijk of defending national champion Valdosta State the day before. The award-winning Argos would not be headed, however.
In the singles event,
Albin Ekenros and
Denilso Martinez advanced to the Round of 16 on Monday and Duran got one step further to the quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion Taco of VSU in a tiebreaker round on Monday afternoon. On the women's side,
Guadalupe Martinez won her match in the Round of 64 to advance one round and
Aline Midori Da Silva moved on to the Round of 16.
Carlota Verdu provided the highlight for the women's team in the event, advancing all the way to the quarterfinals by taking down opponents from fellow GSC contenders Auburn Montgomery, West Alabama and Mississippi College before dropping her matchup, also via tiebreaker, to finalist Andrea De Palma of defending national runner-up Barry.
The ITA Cup, formerly known as the Small College Nationals, is the only doubles and singles national championship event for NCAA Division II and NAIA players. This year's event will be held from October 10-13 and hosted by Berry College at the Rome Tennis Center in Rome, Ga.
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