BATON ROUGE, La. (October 21, 2024) – The University of North Alabama men's tennis team capped this past weekend at ITA Regionals on Sunday, leaving Baton Rouge with 13 wins over multiple brackets.

Playing on the campus of LSU, UNA faced off in singles and doubles action against top programs from the Southern region. The competition UNA faced was vast, ranging from SEC opponents such as Auburn, Ole Miss, LSU and Mississippi State to in-state foes Jacksonville State and Alabama A&M. The Lions took home two wins in doubles action but excelled in singles competition with 11 victories.

Sophomores Alberto Altur and reigning Atlantic Sun Conference Freshman of the Year Izan Orgiles led with three total wins. The two had a double win, followed by two wins in singles play. Sophomore Whitman Davis and freshman Samu Dominguez had two singles wins along with Altur and Orgiles, while senior Nazar Fedoryshyn and sophomore Birtan Duran picked a single and double victory each.

Freshman Satoru Nakajima rounded out the victories for the Lions with a singles win.

"The guys put a lot of effort during the tournament," said UNA Men's Tennis Coach Aitor Reparaz. "We didn't reach all the goals we set up for this tournament, but on a positive note, shout out to Alberto for going through the qualifying rounds and Birtan for advancing to the main draw Round of 32. We are a talented team, but there is much work to be done, especially on how we handle nerves and deal with difficult situations. I'm excited to see how this group can keep growing."

Starting in the opening doubles round, Altur and Duran opened with an 8-6 win over Agustin Marguez and Yin Chih Lan of Alabama A&M. Orgiles and Fedoryshyn followed with an 8-6 triumph over Tulane's Asaf Friendler and Vincent Vohl.

Altur and Duran fell 8-2 to Ole Miss's Matthieu Chambonniere and Noah Schlagenhauf in the second round, with Orgiles and Fedoryshyn dropping an 8-6 result to William Nolan and Billy Blaydes of Auburn.

Singles began with qualifying play, with three Lions earning wins to the next round. Orgiles defeated Aman Dahiya of Jacksonville State, 6-1, 6-2, and Dominguez earned a hard-fought, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Timo De Visser of JSU. Altur nabbed a second overall victory with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Henrique Constanzi Brito of Troy.

Altur continued rolling, earning a third victory with a 6-3, 6-4 win over JSU's Charlie Penman. Orgiles and Dominguez fell in their ensuing second round bouts.

In the qualifying consolation, Nakajima, Davis and Fedoryshyn all rebounded from qualifying-round losses with individual victories. Nakajima picked up a 6-3, 6-0 win over Lucius Soller of Jacksonville State, and Davis secured a win over JSU's David Krasner in 6-4, 6-2 triumph. Fedoryshyn beat Southern Miss's Niklas Nordahl Jensen, 6-2, 6-4 to round out wins in qualifying.

Duran began his singles campaign in the main draw, opening with a 6-3, 7-5 win over South Alabama's Harold van Raemdonck. He faced Mississippi State's Benito Sanchez Martinez in the second round, falling in a 6-1, 6-1 result.

After playing his way to the main draw, Altur fell to SEC competition in a 6-4, 6-2 defeat to Ole Miss's Isac Stromberg. Brain also played in the main draw but fell to South Alabama's Javier Montoya in a three-set battle — 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.

In pickup matches across the weekend, three more victories came from Davis, Orgiles and Dominguez earning their second win. Davis beat Alabama A&M's Agustin Marquez, 6-1, 6-1, and Orgiles defeated the Gamecocks' Zach Murphy, 6-4, 7(7)-6(4). Dominguez earned the Lions' final win in a 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Freddie Lawrence of Alabama A&M.

For full results, click here.

Men's Tennis returns to the court for the BCC Invitational from Oct. 25-27 in Birmingham, Ala.