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TEMPE, Ariz. – Collegians shined on the global stage at the 2025 FISU World University Games in Essen, Germany, as Arizona’s Jay Friend and Texas’ Eszter Meri led the way with their gold medals in singles, picking up two of 17 total medals for U.S.-based collegians at the world’s second-largest Olympic sports event.
Held every two years in different cities across the globe, the tournament consisted of thousands of athletes from more than 150 countries competing across 25 sports (15 summer and 10 winter), showcasing the top student-athletes from around the world.
Friend cemented himself as one of the top-performing collegians in Germany, picking up a gold medal in Men’s singles, mixed doubles and the championship race for Team Japan. Friend became the first Japanese player to win the Men’s singles crown since 1967.
He defeated South Carolina’s Toby Samuel (Great Britain) in the final in three sets (6-1, 4-6, 7-5) on July 26. The day prior, he teamed up with Natsuki Yoshimoto to win the mixed doubles final in straight sets (6-3, 6-3).
Texas’ Eszter Meri cruised through the Women’s singles bracket, bringing home gold for Team Slovakia on July 25 with a 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 win against Alevtina Ibragimova. Meri became the first Longhorn tennis player to win gold at the World University Games and is just the second to medal, joining Kelly Pace, who took bronze in 1995.
Representing Team Japan, Oby Ange Kajuru (Oklahoma State) and Kanon Yamaguchi won the Women’s doubles bracket, defeating Chinese Taipei’s Yu-yun Li and Fang-an Lin in the final in three sets.
In total, more than 40 schools were represented at this summer’s tournament, including Texas, Texas Tech, Baylor, USC, UCLA, Stanford, Notre Dame, Northwestern and more.
Total medals earned by collegians from American institutions
For brackets and final results, visit the World University Games website.
About the FISU World University Summer GamesBochum, Duisburg, Essen, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Hagen, and Berlin are delighted to be hosting the FISU World University Games Summer. From July 16-27 2025, around 8,500 student-athletes and officials from over 150 countries will compete for medals in 18 sports – making this one of the largest multi-sport events in the world in 2025. And there can be few better-placed hosts: in these exceptionally sport-loving locations, the densest university landscape in Europe meets the most sports clubs in Germany.
