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The Keiser women and Georgia Gwinnett men each captured their second ITA NAIA National Team Indoor titles last weekend in Overland Park, Kansas.

No. 2 Keiser prevented a Georgia Gwinnett sweep by defeating No. 1 Georgia Gwinnett 4-1 in the women’s final, while No. 1 Georgia Gwinnett rallied to beat No. 3 Tennessee Wesleyan 4-3 in the men’s final.

Georgia Gwinnett senior Jeremias Rocco clinched the second straight ITA indoor crown for the Grizzlies with a 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-4 win over Volpi Octavio.

Tennessee Wesleyan jumped out to a 2-0 lead after winning the doubles point and having Zoilo Rios win in straight sets on court six. Aleksander Kalinin gave Georgia Gwinnett its first point with a straight-set win on court two. Santiago Villarruel tied the match with a straight-set win on court three.

Following a win by Tennessee Wesleyan’s Asier Pascula on court five to put his team back in front, Georgia Gwinnett staged its final rally to pull out the title. Luis Francisco Sampedro evened the match with a win on court four to set up the thrilling end between Rocco and Octavio.

Rocco led 5-2, only to see Octavio fight off two match points that won games and put the match back on serve at 5-4. Rocco broke right back to complete the 2-hour, 44-minute match and secure the team title.

"I am incredibly proud of our men's team. We simply refused to lose,” Georgia Gwinnett head coach Hannah Keeling said. “That was the message for the whole event and what we represent at GGC. We stepped up in singles again today. Jeremias clinching the match and his first national championship as a Grizz was a special battle. Aleksandr, Luis and Santiago put together high-level performances to give us points in the win.”

Keiser won the inaugural NAIA National Women’s Team Indoor title in 2023, also defeating Georgia Gwinnett. The Seahawks have delivered the Georgia Gwinnett women their only three losses to NAIA teams since the 2017-18 season.

In this year’s final, Keiser won the doubles point, with Liza Velykorodna and Vanja Vidanovic beating Justine Lespes and Cherysh Henry 6-1 on court three and Violet Apisah and Patricia Apisah beating Isid Hernandez and Diana Ilie 6-3 on court one.

After Georgia Gwinnett grabbed the first singles win, Keiser swept the remaining matches to clinch the crown. No. 1 Apisah tied the match on court one with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Melnikova. Isabela Mercante picked up her third win of the tournament with a 6-2, 6-4 win over MaryLove Edwards on court five. Velykoronda, a former Georgia Gwinnett player, captured the deciding point with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Ilie.

“I'm so proud of the girls and the intensity and determination they showed all the way from start to finish,” Keiser head coach Daniel Finn said. “The doubles point today was huge today in grabbing the early momentum of the match. Being able to come out, weather the storm early, and pull away to get a crucial doubles point really helped us set the tone going into singles. From there, the girls played like they smelled blood in the water and went after it."

OTHER WOMEN’S RESULTS

Third Place

Lindsey Wilson def. Xavier, 4-1

Fifth Place

Southeastern def. Middle Georgia, 4-2

Seventh Place

Tennessee Wesleyan def, William Woods, 4-0

OTHER MEN’S RESULTS

Third Place

Keiser def. William Carey, 4-1

Fifth Place

UNOH def. William Woods, 4-0

Seventh Place

Lindsey Wilson def. Middle Georgia, 4-0

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About Rhiannon Potkey

Rhiannon Potkey is a veteran sportswriter with more than two decades of experience in journalism. Potkey has covered many sports at many levels and has a passion for finding great stories. Potkey has covered the U.S. Open, junior sectional and national events, college conference championships and Davis Cup matches. Potkey is currently Content Strategist for Tennis Recruiting. You can reach Rhiannon by email at [email protected].