SEASON PREVIEW: Men's Tennis Working Hard To Continue Momentum In 2026
1/29/2026 11:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Buoyed by back-to-back years of ITA national rankings, SBC Tournament Championship appearances, the Eagles relish being underestimated this Spring
STATESBORO - With the amount of recent success that Georgia Southern men's tennis has experienced over the last two seasons, many outside the program could point to the turnover of the roster and expect the Eagles to take a step back in the Spring of 2026.
But third-year head coach Andrew Goodwin is excited about the young group of student-athletes who will take the court for the Eagles this Spring.
"I've seen an incredibly hungry and excited group," Coach Goodwin said. "Everyone on the team has been going through some major adjustments on and off the court, but I have been happy with how coachable everyone has been as a whole and how driven they are to continue to progress."
Only one player returns from last season's squad that finished with an 18-7 overall record, the most amount of wins earned by the Eagles since 2017 and the best winning percentage (.720) since 1988. The team also achieved an ITA national ranking for a third consecutive season. Senior Matthew Mitchell (Vidalia, Ga.) has been a key part of the squad since joining the Eagles as a freshman in 2023, and he enjoyed a career season last year, registering a combined 30 singles and doubles wins throughout the year.
Of the newcomers, two are transfers from SEC schools. Redshirt sophomore Davis Taylor (Brookhaven, Ga.) joins the Eagles after a pair of seasons at the University of Georgia, while redshirt freshman Albert Saar (Stockholm, Sweden) comes to Statesboro after spending last season at the University of Tennessee.
Four more newcomers are true freshman from overseas who come to America with plenty of youth tennis success. Gregoire Delattre (Trith-Saint-Leger, France) won the FLT Junior Open singles title in October 2021, while Albert Widell (Helsingborg, Germany) was ranked as high as 205 in the ITF Junior singles rankings. Finally, a pair of freshman from Italy, Willy Mirarchi (Paderno Dugnano, Italy) and Edoardo Santoni (Milan, Italy) each earned impressive ITF singles rankings while playing back home.
The team played a stringent Fall schedule with tournament action at Auburn, Wake Forest, Mercer and Elon as well as ITA regionals action in October in order to prepare for the Spring. With that, the foundation was built for the Eagles to hit the ground running the January for the Spring.
"The most encouraging thing I saw from our guys during the fall slate was seeing how organized they were in preparing their time at home over the winter break," Coach Goodwin said. "We formed a clear plan with each guy to make sure they were making the necessary improvements to progress this team, and I loved how the guys owned their plans and clearly stuck to them based on what we've seen since they've come back."
The Spring slate is as challenging as ever, beginning with Saturday's match at the University of Florida. The Eagles will also take on traditional powers Georgia Tech, Chattanooga, USF and Samford before diving into Sun Belt play in mid-March. The Sun Belt Conference tournament will once again take place in Rome, Ga., on April 17-19.
"I feel like whether we are in conference or not, we are putting the same weight on every match we are playing," Coach Goodwin said. "Each match is crucial in us building into becoming the toughest team that no one wants to play. That is a process bigger than one or two matches. This first chunk of the season I want our team to dive into the identity of our program, and show we have the confidence that with that as our foundation we will have long term success."
Despite a team with a lot of new faces, Coach Goodwin is certain that Eagle Nation will come to appreciate the talent, hard work and enthusiasm that his group will put forth at the Wallis Tennis Center beginning later this month. And as for what he expects from the Eagles this season?
"I want to see this team establish their identity and keep our program's values at the forefront regardless of what is thrown at us," Coach Goodwin said. "This is going to give us constant direction that is bigger than any matches and will lead us where we need to go long term. It is a new group, but thanks to the foundation set by our recent senior classes and most importantly Matt Mitchell during his time here, we are equipped to take on the challenges ahead."
Players Mentioned
