LA MIRADA, Calif.--Azusa Pacific's Soeren Grandke, who played in the No. 2 shadow behind two-time PacWest Player of the Year Elias Emilio Walter for two seasons, stepped into his own attention with a victory in the 2025 ITA Division II West Region Singles Championship. 

Grandke, who went 26-2 last year on court two, rallied back after dropping the first set to defeat Biola's Angel Guerrero Melgar, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 in the title match at the Biola Tennis Center. Grandke now advances to the 2025 ITA Cup in Rome, Georgia to compete for the national title, Oct. 16-19.

When Guerrero Melgar won the first set of the championship match, it marked the first time that Grandke had dropped a game in the entire tournament, which featured 64 players and six rounds. Guerrero Melgar, a graduate transfer from Georgia Tech, had won a hard fought semi against Eagle teammate Alejandro Flores Monteverde in the semi's 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. Flores Monteverde was a First Team All-PacWest selection in 2025.

But it was Grandke's turn to shine during the entertaining championship battle. Grandke, a 6-foot-7 junior who fell in the 2024 ITA West Region title match to Emilio Walter, will now get to try his luck in Rome.

In the doubles final, Guerrero Melgar turned the tables on Grandke with his Biola teammate Flores Monteverde. That Eagle duo clipped Grandke and Mathys Pinoit in a 7-5, 6-2 bout for their right to play in the ITA Cup in Georgia. To get to the final, the No. 2 seeded Biola pair outscored their opponents 32-12 in four pro set matches.  Grandke and Pinoit, the No. 1 seeds, had a similar path to the finals, including taking a 8-4 semifinal win over Juaquin Salinas Beltran and Cedric Kaufmann of Fresno Pacific. Pinoit made his Cougar debut as a transfer from Southern Arkansas.

The championship Biola squad advanced to the final with a win over teammates Pol Masafret and Juan Vallejo. Masafret and Vellejo were making their Biola debut after transferring from Reinhardt University (NAIA) in Georgia. 

To see the complete brackets and results for the 2025 Fall ITA West Region Tennis Championships, click here. To read the recap on the women's ITA West Region Championships, click here.