COLUMBUS, Ga. – The No. 19 University of North Georgia (UNG) men's tennis team finished as the Runner-Up in the 2025 Peach Belt Conference Men's Tennis Tournament after a 4-1 loss to No. 5 Flagler in the finals in Columbus, Ga. on Sunday. 

The performance marks UNG's (12-7) best finish in the conference tournament in program history as Sunday served as the first appearance in the championship match in Nighthawk men's tennis history. 

The loss to Flagler (19-2) came after a resounding 4-3 upset victory over No. 16 Columbus State in which the Nighthawks trailed 3-1 in the overall match before storming back for the program's first ever win over the Cougars.

On Sunday, UNG's lone point in the match against the Saints came in #4 singles from freshman Juan Cruz Blanco who defeated Makary Adamek 6-4, 6-3 for his eighth singles win of the year. 

Playing without its lead singles player in junior Pedro Liborio who battled through an injury to finish his clinching match on Saturday, the Nighthawks lost the doubles point before their fate was sealed with losses in #2, #3 and #5 singles against the Saints. 

Now UNG will await the announcement from the NCAA Selection Committee as the Nighthawks hope to make their sixth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional. 

UNG entered the PBC Tournament ranked seventh in the Southeast Region behind fellow PBC members Georgia College and Columbus State whom it outlasted in the tournament. Eight teams from the Southeast Region were selected for NCAA Tournament play last season.