LAKELAND, Fla. –  The University of West Alabama men's tennis duo of Matias Iturbe and Kuzma Gomziakov put together an impressive run at the ITA Division II South Regional, advancing to the doubles championship match before finishing as runners-up this past weekend.

The Tiger duo opened tournament play in the Round of 32 with a commanding 8-2 victory over a doubles team from Valdosta State. Iturbe and Gomziakov continued their strong performance in the Round of 16, defeating Amerigo Ambrosi and Miguel Bretag, 8-3, to advance to the quarterfinals.

West Alabama faced its toughest test yet in the quarterfinal round against Marc Mail and Enrico Rosellini of Embry-Riddle. The Tigers prevailed in a tightly contested matchup, earning an 8-7 victory to secure their spot in the semifinals.

The duo carried that momentum into the semifinals, where they faced Simone Cavalleri and Benjamin Meyers. In another closely contested battle, Iturbe and Gomziakov came away with an 8-7 win to advance to the championship match.

In the finals, the West Alabama tandem faced Charles Lefort and Joshua Hinton. Despite a hard-fought effort, Iturbe and Gomziakov fell just short, dropping a narrow 10-8 decision to finish as the tournament's doubles runners-up.

Iturbe and Gomziakov's run featured four consecutive victories, including three straight wins by two games or fewer, demonstrating their ability to perform in high-pressure moments against some of the region's top doubles competition.

The runner-up finish capped an outstanding tournament for the Tiger duo, who represented West Alabama throughout five rounds of competition at the ITA South Regional.