The PBC Men's Tennis Tournament continued this afternoon as the top four teams battled it out on the court. #1 Columbus State advanced past #4 Lander and will face #2 Flagler, who secured the victory over #3 North Georgia. The Cougars will face the Saints in the PBC Championship on Sunday at 1:00pm in Columbus. This is just the fourth time the pair will meet in the PBC Tournament championship match.
#1 COLUMBUS STATE 4-0 #4 LANDER
CSU MEN'S TENNIS CRUISES TO VICTORY IN PEACH BELT SEMIFINALS
COLUMBUS – The top-seeded Columbus State men's tennis team opened play in the 2026 Peach Belt Conference Championship with a 4-0 victory over No. 26 Lander University in the Semifinal round on Saturday afternoon at the John W. Walden Tennis Center.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Columbus State grabbed the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 1, respectively.
- The No. 2 tandem of senior Thomas Cardona and junior Samer Al Tori were 6-1 winners before (24) seniors Elias Peter and Andrea Sandrone registered a 6-2 win over the 15th-ranked doubles duo from Lander.
- (9) Cardona, the Peach Belt's Player of the Year, put his talents on full display in a 6-2, 6-3 win over (10) Harry Pugh at No. 1 to put the Cougars ahead by two points, before Al Tori won 6-3, 7-5 in the sixth flight.
- PBC Freshman of the year (37) Hugo Didier finished off the match with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 win on court two to propel Columbus State into tomorrow's tournament finale.
UP NEXT
Columbus State will face off against No. 3 Flagler College in the championship match tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
#2 FLAGLER 4-0 #3 NORTH GEORGIA
MALIS CLINCHES TO SEND THE SAINTS TO THE PBC CHAMPIONSHIP
COLUMBUS, Ga. - The No. 3-ranked (ITA Division II Top 50) Flagler College men's tennis team defeated No. 15 University of North Georgia 4-0 this afternoon to advance to the Peach Belt Conference Championship at the John W. Walden Tennis Center.
Flagler won its third consecutive match and improved to 18-3. This will be their fifth consecutive conference championship appearance. North Georgia ends their season with a 13-8 record. The Saints will play Columbus State University tomorrow at 1 p.m. for the title and an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
Doubles started off well for the Saints, as they played to clinch.
Filip Kana and
Aniss Rafiq took the first win of the day against Marcos Castellanos and Franco Rebora, 6-1.
Simon Malis and
Ilian Borlee sent the Saints into singles up one with their 6-3 win against Ben Brandl and Joao Luis Silva.
In singles, No. 58
Aly El Rafie wrapped up his match against Rebora first in two 6-2 sets. Following, El Rafie was Kana who had a 6-1 and 7-5 win against Lleyton Beasley. To send the Saints back to the conference championship was No. 19 Malis who won his match against No. 71 Castellanos. Malis took set one 6-3 then closed out on a 6-4.