SUMTER, S.C. – This past weekend, the 2022 Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division II Regional Championships kicked off at host sites around the country. North Georgia men's tennis player Joaquin Benoit made a run to the 2022 ITA D-II Southeast Regional Finals, falling just short in the third set against Santiago Perez of Columbus State, 7-6, 2-6, 4-6.

Benoit won one match on Saturday and two on Sunday to advance to Monday's semifinal round. The Argentinian native won two of three sets over Hugo Regner of Lander to move on to the Finals. After winning the opening set, Perez would take the last two sets to win the Regional Championship.

Benoit and Cole Brainard were one of three North Georgia doubles pairs to play in the regional. The duo made it to the quarterfinals winning two matches on Saturday defeating pairings from Wingate and Tusculum. 

Christopher Cahour made a run to the Round of 16 in singles, falling in two sets to the top-seeded player in the tournament.

On the women's side both UNG pairings made it to the semifinals before coming up short of a championship match up. Svetlana Teterina and Angelina Linnikova made a cinderella run as the 16th seed and the pair of Johanna Lippert and Viktorie Wojcikova fell to the top seed in the final four.

The ITA Regional Small College Championships feature some of the top men's and women's players from the NCAA Division II, II, NAIA, Junior, and Community Colleges from across the country. Serving student-athletes from the Division II, Division III, NAIA, and Junior College levels, the ITA Regional Small College Championships serve as a direct qualifier for the upcoming ITA Cup.