By: Generated by uReport

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Arizona Christian secured the 2026 GSAC Men’s Tennis Championship on Saturday, defeating Stanton 4-0 at Paseo Racquet Center, and earning the conference’s automatic berth to the NAIA Men’s Tennis National Championship. The top-seeded Firestorm took the doubles point, then finished off the title with singles victories at No. 5, No. 1 and No. 2.

The championship match opened with a tight battle for doubles, and Arizona Christian seized control in the two spots that mattered most. Lennert LeMahieu and Fenosoa Rasendra gave the Firestorm an early edge with a 6-1 win over Egor Pishchelev and Matthias Bigot at No. 2 doubles. Stanton answered at No. 3, where Yohann Molle and Achille Scattolin beat Petar Wemmenhove and Sam Miyata 6-3, leaving the point to be decided at the top position.

At No. 1 doubles, Hugo Abril and Adrian Smith delivered the pivotal result. Facing Stanton’s Oleksandr Kolesnychenko and Lemiel Taira, the Arizona Christian pair closed out a 7-5 win to clinch the doubles point and a 1-0 team lead. That swing carried into singles, where the Firestorm quickly widened the gap.

Rasendra was first off the court in singles, beating Sebastian Koster 6-3, 6-1 at No. 5 to make it 2-0. Abril followed with another key performance at No. 1, defeating Kolesnychenko 7-5, 6-4 in a matchup between the teams’ top players. Abril’s win moved Arizona Christian within one point of the championship and capped a strong day in both doubles and singles.

The clinching point came from LeMahieu in the most competitive singles match of the afternoon. Playing Pishchelev at No. 2, LeMahieu took the opening set 6-4 before Pishchelev leveled the match with a 6-4 second-set win. LeMahieu regained control in the third set and closed out a 6-3 finish, securing the fourth point and the GSAC title for Arizona Christian.

Arizona Christian completed the match with a 2-1 edge in doubles and a 3-0 mark in completed singles contests. Stanton’s strongest result came from Molle and Scattolin at No. 3 doubles, but the Firestorm controlled the deciding moments throughout the afternoon. When LeMahieu finished the clincher, the remaining singles matches, Petar Wemmenhove against Molle at No. 3, Miyata against Bigot at No. 4 and Smith against Scattolin at No. 6, were left unfinished.