Lafarga Reaches Quarterfinals at NAIA ITA Southeast Regional for Milligan Tennis

Gonzaga Lafarga became the top Milligan finisher of all-time at the NAIA ITA Southeast Regionals with his Quarterfinal finish

October 1, 2024

GEORGETOWN, Ky. – Over the weekend, the Milligan University (RV) men's and women's tennis squads traveled north to Georgetown, Ky. for the ITA NAIA Southeast Regional Championships, hosted by Georgetown College. The Buffs squads posted a quarterfinal finish in men's singles from Gonzaga Lafarga as the big result from the tournament.

On the women's side, all but one player was able to reach the Round of 64 in the tourney after byes, or in the case of Tara Stewart, a 6-1, 6-0 triumph. They each ran into more difficult opposition at that stage, though, as they were unable to advance. Lauren Wimmer, Marta Miralles, Trinity Fox, Tiana Shelton and Stewart all fell in the Round of 64, with Lee Anne Endler falling 6-4, 6-4 in the Round of 128.

The men's team had one competitor reach the Quarterfinals in Singles, as Lafarga began in the Round of 128 with a bye and then posted a 6-3, 6-4 win in the Round of 64 to move forward to the Round of 32. He overcame a slow start in the first set of the match in the Round of 32 to win 2-6, 6-3, 10-6. Then, his most impressive feat came in the Round of 16, when he dispatched the tourney's No. 1 seed by a 6-4, 6-4 margin. He came up just short in the Quarterfinals, falling 4-6, 6-4, 4-10 to the fifth-seeded player in the regional. With his perforamnce, he became the highest finisher ever for Milligan at the NAIA ITA Southeast Regional, making it into the final eight.

Gabrijel Kajic, Matias Angulo, Matin Mercarder and Tomas Tenil fell in the Round of 64, while Michal Curlej lost his Round of 128 bout 7-5, 1-6, 5-10.

All three women's doubles pairings reached the Round of 32 for the Buffs, as only the Stewart/Miralles duo had to play in the Round of 64. They took a 6-3 decision forward to the Round of 32, where they were ousted. After byes, Fox/Wimmer and Shelton/Endler pairings also finished in the Round of 32.

The same story was written for the men in doubles, as all three teams ended in the Round of 32. The Brayden Kennedy/Lafarga pairing won their Round of 64 match 6-2 to reach the next round, where they fell victim. The remaining two pairs, including Ryan Thomas/Curlej and Marcos Moreno/Tenil earned byes to the Round of 32, where they lost out.

More Buffaloes tennis action sits just around the corner, as both squads will host UVA Wise at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5 at the Mathes Tennis Center.