No. 15 Nighthawks Open 2025 Southeast Regional With 4-3 Victory Over No. 11 Wingate
Box Score SALISBURY, N.C. – The No. 15 University of North Georgia (UNG) men's tennis team took down No. 11 Wingate 4-3 in the 2025 NCAA Southeast Regional Tournament in Salisbury, N.C. Friday afternoon.
With the victory over the third-seeded Bulldogs, the sixth-seeded Nighthawks advance to the Round of 32 and are one win away from punching their ticket to the 2025 NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Championship in Altamonte Springs, Fla. at Sanlando Park.
UNG will face No. 8 and second-seeded Catawba Saturday, May 10 at 3 p.m. in its quest to make history. The Indians hold a 21-2 record this season but one of those two losses came against the Nighthawks in the 2nd Annual Scenic City Spring Break Tennis Showcase back in March. UNG won that match 4-2 as one of six ranked wins this season.
The Nighthawks victory over 11th-ranked Wingate Friday marked the team's highest-ranked victory this season. It also tied the team's highest-ranked victory in the last four seasons.
UNG came away with the victory in the doubles point to pull ahead early in the match.
Junior Pedro Liborio and freshman Janos Varga paired up for a 6-1 win in #2 doubles to grab the first win of the day for the Nighthawks.
A few minutes later, sophomore Marcos Castellanos and freshman Franco Rebora came back from a 2-1 deficit and rallied to five of the next six points for a 6-3 victory to clinch the 1-0 overall match lead.
In singles UNG quickly took control of the match with a 3-0 lead.
Freshman Juan Cruz Blanco rolled to a 6-3, 6-4 win in #5 singles over Federico Spinetta to earn the second point of the day for the Nighthawks. Moments later, Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) men's singles No. 24 Liborio defeated Gabriel Constantino 6-2, 6-1 in the #1 singles contest.
UNG was on the verge of clinching the match and returning to the Round of 32 for the fifth straight season.
However, the Bulldogs would not go away quietly. They rattled off three straight wins in #3, #4 and #6 singles to even the match at 3-3.
Suddenly, Nighthawk senior Robin Eldin found himself in the middle of the day's decisive match. With its season on the line, UNG would have to lean on the Nighthawk senior to come away with a victory.
ITA No. 56 Eldin had already lost the first set in a crushing tiebreaker 7-6 (9-7 tiebreaker) to No. 75 Carlo Rosellini. He was forced to battle back to a 6-4 win in set two.
In the third set, Eldin punched UNG's ticket to the next round with a dominant 6-2 victory, clinching the 4-3 win for the Nighthawks. He did not trail in the final set.
"We play for this moment," said a grateful Eldin after the match. "Every time I go out on the court, I'm happy to compete… Being next to my teammates, I see them compete, I see them never give up, so it's always good to [win] for my teammates."
Now the Nighthawks have a chance to make history and advance to the NCAA DII Men's Tennis Championship for the first time in program history.
"It was a great battle from the boys," said head coach Kent Norsworthy after the match. "I told them to enjoy the moment for 5-10 minutes and then it's on to tomorrow… So, we'll see if we can turn around and do it again."
UNG looks to take down Catawba again Saturday, May 10 from Salisbury, N.C. at 3 p.m.
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