MOBILE, Ala.- The 8^th ranked Belhaven men's tennis team saw the season come to close, falling to 9^th ranked Xavier (13-11) 5-4 in the second round of the NAIA National Championships Thursday morning.  The Blazers finished the season with an overall record of 16-5 and were unbeaten in the Southern States Athletic Conference at 7-0.
 
(Results)
"We lost a hard fought match, although we did match up well with Xavier," Head Coach Levi Patton said.  "Xavier retooled their lineup from the first time we played them and it worked out for them. We were very close to the match coming down to a three-setter in the No. 5 [court]. We had match point for the second set, but things just didn't work out."
 
The men's doubles events took place first in Thursday's match. The Blazers fought hard in the No. 1 and No. 2 courts, but they came up just shy of victories as the Gold Rush escaped 8-4 and 8-6 respectively. The Blazers' Jefferson Nino and Daniel Prado picked up a much needed 8-1 victory over Jordan Harrell and Viktor Svoboda as things transitioned into singles competition.
 
In men's singles, the Blazers got off to a good a good start with Jefferson Nino's 6-0, 6-3 defeat over Xavier's Viktor Svoboda in the No. 4 court. After dropping the No. 2, the Blazers picked up another victory in Daniel Prado's 7-5, 6-3 win over the Gold Rush's Jordan Harrell in the No. 3 court. The Blazers dropped both the No. 5 and No. 6 courts, but Andre Borghi picked up a come from behind 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 win in between those matches. Although Belhaven split the singles matches with Xavier 3-3, but the 2-1 deficit in doubles play proved to be the deciding factor.
 
Despite Thursday's loss, this year's men's team posted one of the best seasons in the history of Belhaven tennis. The Blazers reached No. 8 in the polls, and could eventually finish in the Top 10 if the final poll. This feat has not been accomplished in more than 20 years.
 
"Even with the loss, I couldn't be happier for what the guys accomplished this season," Patton added.
 
Belhaven also had three SSAC All Conference players and will find out if they earn NAIA All-American honors on Monday.
 
"We have a lot of guys who graduated and will be moving on," Patton said. "I am proud of this team, and this will go down as one of the greatest years in the history of the program."