Men's Bracket    Women's Bracket
MONGOMERY, Ala. – The Belhaven men's and women's tennis teams will open the 2013 Southern States Athletic Conference tournament on Friday in Montgomery, Alabama. The event is hosted at the Lagoon Park Tennis Center.

The Belhaven men enter the postseason with a 13-3 record and are ranked 14th in the latest NAIA Top 25 Poll. The Blazers were recently awarded a forfeit victory against Louisiana College for a match that was originally scheduled to be played on April 12th. Belhaven, who finished second in the SSAC West with a record of 3-1 and is the number three seed, will take on sixth seeded Lee University in the opening round Friday morning at 9:00 AM.

Belhaven is led by Enrico Patriarca who enters the postseason with a record of 12-1 in singles matches while boasting an 8-2 mark in doubles matches this season. Jefferson Nino and Nikita Lisov also have double digit wins in their singles matches coming into the championships. Nino was 11-3 and Lisov was 10-5 during the regular season.

Lee is 4-4 on the year and finished third in the SSAC East Division with a record of 1-2. Belhaven and Lee were scheduled to play earlier in the season but the match was postponed due to inclement weather. The winner will move on to the semifinals and battle either Spring Hill College or Auburn-Montgomery at 2:00 PM Friday.

The Belhaven women recorded a regular season record of 11-5 and also finished second in the SSAC West standings with a record of 3-1. The women, who received votes in the latest NAIA Top 25 Poll, were also rewarded with a forfeit win over Louisiana College. The Blazers will open the tournament as the number six seed and will play the three seed William Carey at 11:30 AM. The Blazers lost to the Crusaders in the regular season 9-0.

Belhaven is led in singles wins by Shelly Munn and Savannah Zachry who are 10-5 and 10-4 respectively on the season. Natalia Krier and Elizabeth Chrestman both enter the postseason with nine victories in singles play. Indi Mire is Belhaven's top doubles player with a record of 11-3 followed by Krier who is 10-3 when she competes in doubles contests.

William Carey won the SSAC West Division with a record of 4-0 and closed the regular season with a mark of 10-7. The Crusaders are ranked fifth in the latest NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll. The winner will take on either Mobile or Auburn-Montgomery in the semifinals Friday afternoon at 4:30 PM.

For all the latest news and information on the tournament, fans can visit the SSAC website by clicking here.