SUMTER, S.C. – The University of North Georgia (UNG) men's and women's tennis teams had a number of players standout at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) 2025 Southeast Regional in Sumter, S.C. over the weekend.

Senior Pedro Liborio made headlines as the men's singles Southeast Regional Champion, defending his title from last year and becoming the first UNG men's or women's tennis player in history to win back-to-back ITA Regional Championships.

On the women's side, sophomore Vasilissa Kupriyanova shined as the women's singles Southeast Regional runner-up after not competing in the event as a freshman.

Liborio began the weekend with a 6-0, 6-1 domination of Lincoln Memorial's Kai Miyatake on Friday. On Saturday morning, Liborio continued to cruise with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Carson-Newman's Alexandre Post to advance to the Round of 16. Just a few hours after defeating Post, Liborio again won in straight sets this time 6-2, 6-3 against Peach Belt Conference foe Chase Martin of Georgia College.

Liborio awoke Sunday morning to face Santiago Passoni, the No. 16 seed in the regional draw from Catawba. Once again Liborio cruised to a 6-2, 7-5 victory. 

The semifinals saw two of the top three seeds in the region battle as third-ranked Liborio faced second-ranked Simon Malis of Flagler. While Liborio lost his first and only set of the entire tournament, he came away with a convincing 6-0, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Malis to advance to the regional championship.

After already defeating players from GCSU and Flagler, Liborio would have to face one final conference opponent in the championship. No. 4 Harry Pugh from Lander stood across the court as Liborio attempted to defend his title Monday morning. Liborio asserted his dominance with a 6-3 victory in the opening set. In the finale, he used his skill to come away with a 7-5 victory to make program history. 

Last year Liborio became the first player in Nighthawk men's tennis history to earn an ITA Regional Championship. His victory earned him an automatic bid into the ITA Cup which made him just the second player in program history to appear in the ITA national tournament. With another victory this year, Liborio will return to the tournament for a second season. The ITA Cup takes place in Rome, Ga. Oct. 16-19. 

For Kupriyanova, she made the furthest run in the Southeast Regional to spotlight numerous impressive performances from the UNG women's team. 

Kupriyanova, junior transfer Sofia Giraldo and senior transfer Anastasiia Opolska all made it to the quarterfinals over the weekend. Giraldo and Opolska were each eliminated ahead of the final four but Kupriyanova won twice on Sunday to advance to the championship.

Kupriyanova's weekend began with an easy 6-0, 6-2 win against UVA Wise's Kenzy Abdelaal. She then upset the No. 1 player in the region and a PBC member in Columbus State's Nikoline Gullacksen. The second-year Nighthawk made a major statement in the 6-4, 6-4 win over Gullacksen who ended last season ranked as the No. 10 women's singles player in the country per ITA. 

Kupriyanova faced the 16th-ranked player in the regional draw Rin Igarashi from Catawba in the Round of 16 Saturday afternoon after defeating Gullacksen in the morning. She quickly dispatched Igarashi 6-2, 6-2 to join her fellow teammates in the quarterfinals.

Erskine's Valeria Guerrero was no match for Kupriyanova who won 6-2, 6-4 Sunday morning. 

In the semifinals, Kupriyanova, unranked regionally to begin the tournament, faced No. 8 Eryka Kruk from Flagler. She continued her hot streak by winning her ninth and 10th straight sets in a clean 6-4, 6-3 sweep of the conference rival.

Catawba's Sofia Antolini finally halted Kupriyanova in the final in a hard fought 2-6, 3-6 loss for the young Nighthawk who finished as the Southeast Regional runner-up in her first appearance in the tournament. 

Kupriyanova also put together an impressive performance in women's doubles by teaming up with fellow sophomore Linn Goerdes to make a run to the semifinals. The stretch from the duo was highlighted by a win in the opening round against the draw's No.4-seed Ashley Bentz and Rachel Black from GCSU as well as a win over No. 6 Valeria Guerrero and Arianna Jatvia of Erskine.

On the men's side, Liborio and sophomore Janos Varga also made an appearance in the quarterfinals. 

Now the team will return home as Liborio prepares for the ITA Cup and the others await an opportunity for an at-large bid. The ITA Cup begins Wednesday Oct. 16 in Rome, Ga. at the Berry Tennis Center.