CLINTON, Miss. - Belhaven Men's Tennis, down 2-1 in doubles, could not come-from-behind in Singles as Mississippi College defeated the Blazers 5-4 in the opening round of the NCCAA Mideast Regional.
 
Belhaven (18-3) dropped two of the three matches in doubles play, with Rafael Siqueira and Pawel Tarasewicz avoiding the sweep at the No. 3 pojnt with the 8-6 victory against Phillip Qu and Sanders Barrick.
 
Mississippi College (14-8) took the points at No. 1 and No. 2 singles to lead 4-1. However, the Blazers took the points at No. 3, No. 4 and No. 6 to tie the match at four apiece. With the deciding point at No. 5 Singles, the Choctaws rallied to win the point and clinch the match.
 
Tomas Ojeda, Omar Lopez and Rene Ramos earned singles victories in straight sets.
 
The Blazers saw a 14-match winning streak snap on Saturday with the loss.
 
Belhaven will now wait to see if the team will earn an at-large bid to the NCCAA National Championships in Mobile, Alabama, scheduled for May 10-13.
 
 
Singles
1. Marcos Rocca (MC) def. Rafael Siqueira (BU) 6-2, 6-1
2. Lucio Menezes (MC) def. Gabriel Da Costa (BU) 6-3, 6-3
3. Tomas Ojeda (BU) def. Maximilian Nilges (MC) 6-2, 7-6
4. Omar Lopez (BU) def. Petar Damjanovic (MC) 6-2, 6-3
5. J. Rodrigo Gonzalez (MC) def. Pawel Tarasewicz (BU) 5-7, 7-6, 6-3
6. Rene Ramos (BU) def. Phillip Qu (MC) 6-2, 6-3
 
Doubles
1. Marcos Rocca/Petar Damjanovic (MC) def. Harry Amor/Tomas Ojeda (BU) 8-2
2. Maximilian Nilges/Lucio Menezes (MC) def. Rene Ramos/Omar Lopez (BU) 9-7
3. Rafael Siqueira/Pawel Tarasewicz (BU) def. Phillip Qu/Sanders Barrick (MC) 8-6