MONTGOMERY, Ala. (September 15, 2025) – The University of North Alabama men's tennis team wrapped up its first fall action Sunday with a runner-up finish at the Blue Gray Tennis Classic in Montgomery.
The Lions traveled to the state's capital for the three-day event and left Montgomery with an overall second-place finish. Two UNA pairs competed in a blue and gray draw with the winners advancing to a championship match. Senior Lachlan Brain and sophomore Satoru Nakajima competed in the blue draw, and juniors Alberto Altur and Izan Orgiles took on the gray draw.
North Alabama's pairs had strong performances with the Lions' winning the blue draw while placing in third in the gray draw. Brain and Nakajima won the blue draw but fell in a narrow 10-7 tiebreak to gray-draw winners Clemson. Altur and Orgiles took third place in the gray draw, falling to Clemson.
The blue draw final ended with North Alabama defeating Rice.
Both Lions' duos opened the weekend with victories. Brain and Nakajima claimed two singles wins against Tulane while Altur and Orgiles swept Alabama.
Brain and Nakajima fell to Tulane's Daniel Phillips and Alec Gaudin in doubles, 8-7 (3). Nakajima rebounded for a 6-4, 6-2 singles over Gaudin while Brain rallied for a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Phillips.
Orgiles and Altur defeated Alabama's Brendan Loh and Jacob Olar in their first doubles match, 8-5. Altur secured his singles win over Loh, 7-5, leading to Orgiles' 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 victory over Olar.
Brain and Nakajima continued in the Blue draw with two more singles victories against Georgia Tech. The two dropped their doubles against Christophe Clement and Hidde Schoenmakers, 8-6. Singles saw Brain triumph over Clement, 6-3, 7-6(5). Nakajima tallied his own singles win over Schoenmakers, 6-2, 6-4.
Orgiles and Altur bounced back to take third in the gray draw. Facing Boise State, the two Lions defeated Idriss Haddouch and Stewart Aronson in doubles, 8-2. Altur clinched the matchup with a 7-6(5), 6-2 win over Haddouch.
Brain and Nakajima started with an 8-6 doubles triumph over Petro Kuzmnok and Joshua Mandelbaum. Nakajima sent the Lions' duo to the men's championship match with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Rice's Mandelbaum.
The finale saw Brain and Nakajima battle Clemson's Henrik Bladelius and Manuel Plunger in a 10-point tiebreak for the championship. UNA's two battled, but the Tiger clinched the championship with a narrow 10-7 win.
For full results, click here.
UP NEXT
Men's Tennis continues the fall with the Battle of the Plains from Oct. 3-5 at Auburn.
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