Men’s tennis player David Ekpenyong finished his historic singles performance in the NAIA national championship match at the ITA Cup on Oct. 13. He became the first OLLU student-athlete to compete for an individual national championship in school history.
Head Coach Dave Watts commented, “I’m really proud of David and his run in the tournament. Between Kyllian (Savary) reaching the quarterfinals of nationals last year and David making it to the final this year, they really set the bar for the program. Taking three players to nationals this year was huge for us. Kyllian and David played singles, while Kyllian also played doubles with Aymeric Bruno. David beating the No. 1 seed in the first round was a big confidence booster for him. His semifinal match was no walk in the park either. Thankfully, he was resilient enough to make it through. Ultimately, we are both very disappointed that he didn’t win the final and aren’t satisfied with runner-up. There is still so much room to improve. Hats off to Santiago Villarruel at Georgia Gwinnett College. He is a very experienced competitor, and we learned a lot by playing him today. This just adds fuel to the fire and we will come back stronger in the spring. I fully expect our team to compete with any team in the country this spring.”
Ekpenyong showcased a record-breaking singles performance by reaching the championship match. He started the tournament by shocking No. 1 seed Perry Gregg from Holy Cross College 5-7, 6-2, 7-5. He followed the upset by racing past Francisco Perez Esnaola from the University of Northwestern Ohio 6-2, 6-0. Ekpenyong matched up with No. 4 seed Octavio Volpi in the semifinals. He defeated the Tennessee Wesleyan University (TWU) standout in a thrilling three sets (6-4, 4-6, 7-5).
Standing in his way was Santiago Villarruel, a player from powerhouse Georgia Gwinnett College. The Grizzlies have marked four consecutive NAIA national championships and a total of 10 since 2014. Ekpenyong battled with long rallies but was unable to claim the championship as Villarruel won 6-3, 6-3. Ekpenyong’s journey through the draw included victories over highly ranked ITA opponents.
Kyllian Savary (singles/doubles) and Aymeric Bruno (doubles) also qualified for the ITA Cup NAIA division.
Full results:
DOUBLES
Aymeric Bruno/Kyllian Savary (W1/L2): lost to Zolio Rios/David Leon (Tennessee Wesleyan University) – 4-6, 1-6; lost to Ben Starman/Joren Stevens (Midland University) – 1-6, 3-6; defeated Luke Geduldt/Victor Bourguignon (Union College) – 3-6, 6-3, (11-9)
SINGLES
David Ekpenyong (W3/L1): defeated (1) Perry Gregg (Holy Cross College/Notre Dame) – 5-7, 6-2, 7-5; defeated Francisco Perez Esnaola (University of Northwestern Ohio) – 6-2, 6-0; defeated (4) Octavio Volpi (Tennessee Wesleyan University) – 6-4, 4-6, 7-5; lost to Santiago Villarruel (Georgia Gwinnett College) – 3-6, 3-6
Kyllian Savary (W0/L1): lost to David Leon (Tennessee Wesleyan University) – 2-6, 5-7; wd. (ret)