OKLAHOMA CITY - The second-ranked Columbus State University men's tennis team is bringing home another national championship to Columbus. The Cougars captured the inaugural Division II ITA National Indoor Championship on Sunday by dominating No. 1 Barry 4-0. The tournament was held at the OKC Tennis Center in Oklahoma City.

The Cougars exacted some revenge over the Bucs after Barry defeated CSU in the 2019 NCAA national championship match.

"This was an unbelievable experience," commented Columbus State head coach Evan Isaacs. "I felt like our doubles play helped set the tone for the day with some fantastic matches. Barry has a top-class program and we know there is a good chance of seeing them again down the road."

"I would like to thank the ITA and the entire tennis community of Oklahoma City for putting on an excellent event. To give our players at this level this opportunity was a brilliant idea and we couldn't be happier to be the first champions of the event."

Columbus State (7-0) put together two thrilling victories at first and second doubles to gain control of the match. After the Bucs (4-1) took the third spot, both Cougar doubles team at the top two positions were in grueling tiebreakers to decide the outcomes. At second doubles, Matei Avram and Christian Garay were able to outlast Alessandro Giuliato and Tim Buttner 8-6 to secure the 7-6 victory.

However, the real marathon was happening at first doubles where Alvaro Regalado and Javier Cueto Ramos were battling Alejandro Gallego and Carlos Gomez deep into the match. The two sides played a total of 28 points in the tiebreaker with Regalado and Cueto Ramos edging their opponents 15-13 to earn the 7-6 win.

With all the momentum, the Cougars would dominate singles play. In a rematch of the 2019 ITA Cup singles championship match, the top two singles players at the DII level squared off with No. 1 Gallego meeting No. 2 Regalado. Regalado was too much to handle, racing to a 6-1, 6-2 to win his 27th straight spring singles match. 

Neither Fabien Asdrubal or Pierre Montrieul took part in doubles play, but the duo met at the second spot. Asdrubal controlled the match the entire way to record a 6-2, 6-1 win. Needing just one win to clinch the title, Christian Garay stormed back in the second set to knock off No. 37 Gomez 6-1, 6-3 to give the Cougars the 4-0 win. It was the sophomore's first victory over a ranked opponent in his CSU career.

In the unfinished matches, Cueto Ramos split the first two sets against No. 10 Giuliato at fourth singles while Schold and No. 42 Alejandro Palacios were also in the third set at the fifth spot. In the sixth position, Avram was down a set to Arnau Rodriguez.

Up Next

After a few days off, the Cougars will begin a seven-match home stand by taking on No. 8 Azusa Pacific at the John W. Walden Tennis Center at Cooper Creek Park in Columbus on Friday, March 6. The match will begin at 9 a.m. CSU and Azusa met in the 2018 NCAA national semifinal round with the Cougars recording a 5-1 win.