FORT MYERS, Fla. (April 17, 2026) – The No. 2 University of North Alabama men's tennis team suffered a heart-breaking defeat in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Semifinal on Friday, falling 4-3 to No. 3 Stetson in Fort Myers, Fla.
The competitive semifinal bout fell in favor of the Hatters, who waved off a furious North Alabama comeback to advance to the final. Stetson took the early advantage with the doubles point, but North Alabama made it a contest late with three singles wins. Sophomore Samu Dominguez, sophomore Satoru Nakajima and junior Alberto Altur earned respective wins to tie the team score at 3-3, but the deciding match went to Stetson in the top flight.
The defeat marked UNA's first loss to ASUN competition in nearly two years. The last defeat came in the 2024 ASUN Tournament Semifinal against North Florida. After that, UNA went 16-0 against conference opponents prior to today.
The Hatters will face No. 1 North Florida in the ASUN Tournament Final on Saturday, April 18 at 8 a.m. CT.
Nakajima led the team with two wins, earning a win in both doubles and singles. Junior Alex Despoja won doubles alongside Nakajima, and Altur and Dominguez claimed singles victories.
Nakajima and Despoja started strong for the Lions in doubles, taking the first win from court two over Christian Kuehne and Santia Padilla Cote, 6-2. Stetson answered with 6-3 and 6-4 wins, respectively, from courts one and three to win the doubles point.
Dominguez stormed out in singles for the first point, defeating Marc Saura from court five, 6-2, 6-1. Another Hatters' response came from courts three and four, moving Stetson's advantage to 3-1 in team scoring.
Altur began the rally after fighting for a victory on court two. He overcame a tiebreak in the opening frame to defeat Christian Kuehne, 7-6 (7-3), 6-0. Nakajima grabbed a hard-fought win from court six, prevailing in two tiebreak sets for a 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4) triumph over James Lorrenzetti.
The top flight determined who advanced to the final, with Brain forcing a third set after dropping the opening frame. Stetson's Alexandre Verlaguet won the first set, 6-4, but Brain rallied back with a 6-2 second set. Both continued to battle in the third frame, but Verlaguet came out the winner with a 6-3 win.
This concludes the 2026 campaign for the Lions. UNA finished with 14 wins on the year – the third-most in Division I program history. The Lions went a perfect 5-0 against ASUN opponents during the regular season and 7-1 in all matches played at home.
The season culminated in four ASUN postseason honors, including the second Doubles Pair of the Year honor in Division I program history. Senior Lachlan Brain became the first Division I student-athlete at North Alabama to earn three consecutive First Team All-ASUN selections.
Stetson 4, North Alabama 3
Doubles
1. Kartik Mandla/Alexandre Verlaguet (STET) def. Alberto Altur/Izan Orgiles (UNA), 6-3
2. Alex Despoja/Satoru Nakajima (UNA) def. Christian Kuehne/Santia Padilla Cote (STET), 6-2
3. Xavier Sarda Marti (STET) def. Lachlan Brain/Samu Dominguez (UNA), 6-4
Singles
1. Alexandre Verlaguet (STET) def. Lachlan Brain (UNA), 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
2. Alberto Altur (UNA) def. Christian Kuehne (STET), 7(7)-6(3), 6-4
3. Xavier Sarda Marti (STET) def. Izan Orgiles (UNA), 7-5, 6-2
4. Santia Padilla Cote (STET) def. Alex Despoja (UNA), 7(7)-6(1), 6-1
5. Samu Dominguez (UNA) def. Marc Saura (STET), 6-2, 6-1
6. Satoru Nakajima (UNA) def. James Lorrenzetti (STET), 7(7)-6(5), 7(7)-6(4)
Order of Finish – Doubles: (2,3,1), Singles: (5,3,4,2,6,1)
Match Notes
North Alabama: 14-9
Stetson: 14-6
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
