Mobile, Ala.— The Spire men's tennis season ended Tuesday afternoon with a 4-0 loss to the Holy Cross Saints in the first round of the 2026 NAIA Men's Tennis National Championship at the Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Alabama. Unfortunately, the Saints secured the momentum shifting doubles point and then added three completed singles victories to advance to round two this afternoon.

USM picked up one of the day's strongest early results at No. 2 doubles, where Nudem Koyuncu and Nils Dueppe earned a 6-4 win over the No. 14 nationally ranked doubles pairing of McManus and Jezyk. That gave the Spires a split through two doubles matches, but Holy Cross claimed the point by taking the other two courts. Friesen and Golmei defeated Evan Maritz and Korbin Priestley 6-4, and Wai and O'Sullivan closed doubles with a 6-0 win over Mateo Dargel Argote and Carlos Grimaldi.

Once play shifted to singles, Holy Cross would quickly build upon the margin. Wai posted a 6-3, 6-1 win over Dueppe, McManus followed with a 6-2, 6-1 decision against Grimaldi, and Jezyk beat Maritz 6-4, 6-1. Those three completed singles matches, combined with the doubles point, were enough to seal the team result for the Saints, clenching the opening round at 4-0.

The individual scores showed USM still battling on courts that did not finish. Korbin Priestley had taken the first set 7-5 against Friesen and was ahead 1-0 in the second when the match was left incomplete after the overall decision was secured. Koyuncu also claimed the opening set of his singles match, 6-3 against Golmei, before trailing 4-0 in the second at the stoppage. Holy Cross also received a completed straight-set win from Blanco Goytia, who defeated Dargel Argote 6-2, 6-0.

The loss closes the Spires post-season run at the national tournament, with Nudem and Nils delivering one final doubles win for their season and overall showing resistance in the unfinished singles matches against a stacked Holy Cross lineup that controlled the deciding courts in Mobile.

The University of Saint Mary is extremely proud of our Spire men's tennis program for making their first appearance on the national stage under first year head coach, Joao Almeida and graduate assistance Kurt Bruckner. The USM community eagerly awaits everything this squad will accomplish in seasons to come!