Nakamine Wins Doubles at ITA Summer National Championships

ACU tennis transfer Luis Jose Nakamine won the men's doubles event at the ITA Summer National Championships in Memphis.

Nakamine was paired with Luc Koenig, a former teammate of his at Baylor, and the two were the No. 1 seed in the draw. After a first round bye, Nakamine and Koenig swept a two-set quarterfinal match. In the semifinals, the duo earned another sweep -- this time over the No. 4 seeded doubles team from the University of Memphis.

In the championship match, Nakamine and Koenig pulled off a 6-3 first-set win over No. 2 seed Martin Vergara (East Tennessee State) and Cody Benton (North Carolina State). 

Vergara and Benton rallied to win the second set and force a 10-point tiebreaker. But, Nakamine and Koenig won the final five points of the tiebreaker with Nakamine using a back-handed return at the net to win championship point (6-3, 3-6, 1-0 [10-6]). 

Nakamine is transferring to ACU after his freshman season at Baylor where he finished with a 14-6 singles record in the fall 2024 season. Nakamine played in the 2024 Australian Open in the junior boys' singles and doubles draws.