Men's Tennis Finishes as Runner-up at 2024 ITA NAIA National Men's Team Indoor Championship

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.- For the second consecutive season, the men's tennis team competed at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) NAIA National Men's Team Indoor Championship. Tennessee Wesleyan was one of eight teams invited to take part in the event due to being ranked in the top seven of the 2023 NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Postseason Poll (one spot is given to a host team). The event took place from February 2-4 in Overland Park, Kan. In 2023, the Bulldogs finished third at the event.

First Round:

In the first round, TWU faced the seventh-seeded team in the field, Xavier University of Louisana. 

The opponents put the first point on the board after winning the doubles point. In the singles matches, the score eventually became tied 2-2. Patricio Gallegos put the team on the board with a 6-0, 6-2 win in the No. 5 singles spot while Sabi Roi helped the team lead 2-1 after winning the No. 2 singles 6-2, 6-4. After Xavier tied it 2-2 with a singles win, David Leon (6-2, 6-2) won the No. 6 singles and Zolio Rios won the No. 4 singles match 7-6, 6-3 to give the Bulldogs a 4-2 win and advance them to the semifinals.

Semifinals:

In the semifinals, the match was a reversal of the first round. The team faced the No. 3 seed, the University of Northwestern Ohio.

Tennessee Wesleyan took the doubles point, winning the No. 2 doubles match featuring German Delcanto and Octavio Volpi 6-4, and winning the No. 3 doubles 7-5 that Leon and Rios played in. Northwestern Ohio won one of the first singles matches to tie the match 1-1. Volpi won the No. 1 singles 6-2, 6-4 to give the Bulldogs back the advantage at 2-1. The match took a turn when Northwestern Ohio won the next two singles points, moving into match point with a 3-2 lead. Needing to win the final two matches remaining, that is exactly what TWU did as Gallegos won the No. 5 singles 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 and Leon clinched the match for the Bulldogs with his 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 No. 6 singles win, moving Tennessee Wesleyan to the championship match on Sunday.

Championship Match:

The championship match saw the Bulldogs taking on the No. 1 seed in the tournament, Georgia Gwinnett College. 

A battle in the doubles match went towards Georgia Gwinnett, giving them an early 1-0 lead. Even though the Bulldogs won the No. 5 singles match featuring Gallegos (6-4, 6-3), the team was not able to turn any of the other matches their way, falling in the championship match 4-1 and finishing in second place.