MOBILE, Ala. –Belhaven men's tennis team was victorious in their first match of the 2013 NAIA National Tournament, recording a 7-2 win over Spring Arbor (Mich.) on Tuesday morning. The Blazers took two of three doubles matches and five of the six singles flights for the decisive victory to move on to the second round.

Belhaven entered the day as the 11^th seed in the tournament, playing a Cougars team that has hovered in and out of the last few spots in the top 25 all season. The quick-start Cougars (17-8) got the first point of the day as Aaron Mayes and Thomas Calderone defeated Belhaven's number one doubles duo of Nikita Lisov and Andres Yepez 8-3.

The Blazers (16-4) responded with an identical score at third doubles, as Daniel Prado and Enrico Patriarca posted Belhaven's first point with an 8-3 win. Belhaven claimed the doubles side of things with a tight 8-6 at second doubles thanks to the hot hands of Jefferson Nino and David Mejia. The duo has displayed great chemistry after being matched up together midway through the season.

Andres Yepez rebounded from his loss in doubles with a 6-0, 6-3 win over John Hall at sixth singles to put the Blazers up 3-1. Prado followed suit at third singles with a 6-1, 6-3 win to bring the Blazers within one point of clinching victory over the Cougars.
Nino was the man to deliver the victory for the Blazers, winning 6-2, 6-2 at the second flight over Mayes. Mejia and Patriarca also pulled out straight set victories at the fourth and fifth spots respectively to give the Blazers their seven points on the day.

Spring Arbor's David Darling was the only other Cougar to record a victory, coming back from a first-set loss to edge Lisov in a third-set tiebreak 14-12.

Belhaven moves on to the second round of the NAIA tournament against Xavier Univesity (La.), a team they lost to 5-4, back in the first week of the season. The Blazers have been a much better team since changing up lineups later on in the year.

Belhaven and Xavier will serve-off at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning for an opportunity to move on to the round of eight.

Results

Singles
1. Darling, David (SAU) def. Nikita Lisov (BU) 4-6, 7-5, 14-12
2. Jefferson Nino (BU) def. Mayes, Aaron (SAU) 6-2, 6-2
3. Daniel Prado (BU) def. Calderone, Thomas (SAU) 6-1, 6-3
4. David Mejia (BU) def. Scholten, Nathan (SAU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Enrico Patriarca (BU) def. Wojtkowski, Matt (SAU) 6-4, 6-3
6. Andres Yepez (BU) def. Hall, John (SAU) 6-0, 6-3

Doubles
1. Mayes, Aaron/Calderone, Thomas (SAU) def. Nikita Lisov/Andres Yepez (BU) 8-3
2. Jefferson Nino/David Mejia (BU) def. Darling, David/Scholten, Nathan (SAU) 8-6
3. Daniel Prado/Enrico Patriarca (BU) def. Wojtkowski, Matt/Hall, John (SAU) 8-3