Eastern Florida State Men’s Tennis Team Earns Best Finish in Program History at NJCAA Division I National Tournament
By Space Coast Daily // May 16, 2026
doubles team of Johan Mottlau and Filip Sormaz brought home a national title in straight sets
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – The Eastern Florida State College men’s tennis team enjoyed its best finish in program history, placing third in the NJCAA Division I National Tournament at Collin College in Plano, Texas.
“It was a stellar week of tennis for Eastern Florida State College, and I am immensely proud of this group,” Eastern Florida State College men’s tennis coach Nick Rosatti said.
“It was a joy to watch our guys make a huge comeback to secure a podium position. We played extremely well in doubles, which proved to be the difference.”
The No. 2 doubles team of Johan Mottlau and Filip Sormaz brought home a national title, winning the championship with a straight sets win over Pratt’s Kenta Kawada and Thiofhi Tshivhase in straight sets to win the title and become the second doubles team in program history to win a national championship.
The first set was back and forth, with Mottlau and Sormaz getting the break, then being broken to make it 2-2. The Pratt duo took a 4-2 lead, but the Titans responded with another break to tie things 4-4.
It would be tied 6-6 with Mottlau and Sormaz picking up the gutsy win in a tight 8-6 tiebreaker, posting the 7-6 win in the first set.
They continued to play well, jumped out to a 4-0 lead, and locked up the title with a 6-2 win.
Mottlau and Sormaz came into the tournament as the No. 4 seed in No. 2 doubles and defeated the No. 5 seed before beating the No. 1 seed to make the final. Then, in the final, they defeated the No. 2 seed for the title.
“I am excited for Johan and Filip for winning the National Championship! I am so proud of them and know that they are outstanding young men, and I had the privilege of coaching them in the fall. So happy for both of them,” Eastern Florida State College Associate Vice President of Athletics Jeff Carr said.
Pablo Garcia was in the championship final at No. 3 singles as the No. 6 seed’s run ended with a runner-up finish as he fell to the No. 1 seed, Kenta Kawada from Pratt Community College.
Garcia got off to a fast start, but Kawada battled back to win the first set in a tiebreaker 7-6.
Garcia could not get back on track and fell 6-2 in the second set. The sophomore was the No. 6 seed and defeated both the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds to reach the finals.
The No. 1 doubles team of Fernando Martinez and Salva Mulet also finished in second place as they lost in the final, 6-3, 6-4 to Pratt’s Sam Dineen and Kenneth Rabinad Vila.
“Of our three finals matches, all three of them were against the overall champion, Pratt Community College, and we were able to win one of those,” Rosatti said.
The Titans did win a pair of consolation final matches on Thursday.
Mottlau came back from being down 5-4 to defeat Weatherford’s Andres Serrano 8-5 and claim the title. Mottlau finished the tournament 2-1, rebounding from a quarterfinals loss to win the consolation title.
Tomas Kurz Cardozo dominated on Thursday, winning the consolation final 8-1 against USC Sumter’s Andrew Griffith. Cardozo also went 2-1 in the tournament after losing in the quarterfinals.
The doubles team of Cordozo and Pablo Garcia lost in the consolation finals, 8-5.
