SUMTER, S.C. – The University of North Georgia (UNG) men's tennis team wrapped up its time at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) 2026 Southeast Regional with several standout performances in Sumter, S.C.
On the singles side, Anton Krondell delivered the highlight weekend for the Nighthawks, securing the men's singles Southeast Regional Championship in Flight B.
Krondell kicked off the weekend with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Yi-Hsuan Chen from UVA Wise before defeating Samuil Sivinov from Lenoir-Rhyne in a tiebreaker, 3-6, 7-6, 10-7 to advance to the quarterfinals.
In the quarterfinals, Krondell battled with Kenneth Rabinad Villa from Flagler with a trip to the semifinals on the line. The two Peach Belt Conference (PBC) foes fought their way to a tiebreaking set, where Krondell secured the win, 6-1, 1-6, 10-4 to survive and advance.
On Sunday, Krondell faced Cam Simpson from Belmont Abbey in the semifinals. Simpson was forced to retire his side due to an injury, paving the way for Krondell to advance to the championship.
Just a few hours after the semifinals, Krondell stood across the court from Jules Subra from Francis Marion with a championship up for grabs. Krondell delivered a convincing 6-3, 6-2 straight-set victory to capture the title.
Also in Flight B, Juan Cruz Blanco (6-4, 7-6), Franco Rebora (6-2, 6-2) and Janos Varga (6-2, 6-1) each advanced past their opponents in the opening round of singles to advance to the second round before closing out their singles runs.
In singles Flight A, Marcos Castellanos (6-2, 6-3), João Luis Silva (6-2, 6-4) and Alex Despoja (6-0, 6-3) used convincing straight-set victories in the opening round to advance. While Silva's tournament run came to an end in the second round, Castellanos downed Ferrum College's Sebastian Ondas 6-2, 6-1 to advance, and Despoja defeated Christian Bacher from Lander 6-4, 6-4 to move on. Castellanos' singles run ended in the round of 16 against Lander's Harry Pugh, 1-6, 3-6, while Despoja also fell in the same round, 4-6, 3-6 to Daniel Hammond from Columbus State.
On the doubles side, Blanco and Varga stood above the competition as champions of Flight B. The duo strung together back-to-back dominant victories, 8-2 over Middle Georgia, and 8-1 over Lenoir-Rhyne to advance to the semifinals.
The Nighthawk pairing continued to shine in the semis with a 9-7 victory against Belmont Abbey.
In the final round, Blanco and Varga stood face-to-face with a familiar opponent in Flagler. The Nighthawks rose to the occasion, as Blanco and Varga took down Noah Paterson and Oliver Hradilek 8-4 to come out on top.
Rebora and Castellanos downed Ferrum College 9-7 in the first round before taking care of Anderson 8-6 in the second to secure a spot in the quarterfinals. The pairing put together a convincing 8-2 victory over Lenoir-Rhyne to continue their doubles run. In the semifinals, Rebora and Castellanos were narrowed out by Lincoln Memorial 8-9.
Krondell and Despoja fought through Lees-McRae 8-5 and Lander 8-6 to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals. In a rematch with Lander, the Bearcats got the best of the Nighthawk duo 4-8.
In doubles Flight B, Tom Lefèvre and Silva saw their defeat to Tusculum 5-8 in the opening round.
With regional championship season still in session, the Nighthawks will await the selection announcements for the ITA Fall National Championship in Rome, Ga.
