CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Averett University men's tennis sophomore Jorge Figueroa lost his opening round singles match at the 2021 NCAA Division III individual championships on Friday at the Champions Tennis Club. Kalamazoo College's Ian Yi defeated Figueroa 6-1, 6-2, in a match that was tighter than the final score would indicate.

"Jorge always competes with a lot of passion and fire and today was no exception," Averett head coach Bert Poole said. "And even though he didn't get the win, I'm very proud of the way Jorge competed and also the way he represented Averett University. It took a great deal of courage to get out there and compete with some of the best players in the country with so many eyes upon him. He's a very impressive young man."
 
Figueroa, who was the first Averett men's tennis player to be selected for the NCAA individual championships since 2002, fell behind 2-0 in the opening set before holding off Yi to close the deficit 2-1. Yi then took the next three sets to go up 5-1, but Figueroa didn't go quietly. The two battled back and forth in the seventh game, with both players having multiple advantage opportunities. However, Yi ended up winning it to take the first set, 6-1.

Yi, a junior ranked No. 7 in the Central Region, opened the second set with a 1-0 advantage, but Figueroa answered to tie it, 1-1. Yi then held off Figueroa over the next three games to go in front 4-1. Figueroa won the next one to get within 4-2, but again Yi held off Figueroa in a few more tight games to close the second set out 6-2 to seal the win and advance to the next round.
 
Although the loss marked the end of his season, the NCAA appearance capped off a great sophomore campaign for Figueroa. He was named to the 2021 USA South All-Conference First Team and East Division First Team, was named USA South Player of the Week once and was picked for USA South Doubles Team of the Week while being ranked No. 9 in the Atlantic South Region. He went 5-9 at No. 1 singles for the Cougars, earning key singles wins against Division II Shaw University and opponents from Washington and Lee University and N.C. Wesleyan College.