Mobile, Al. – The No. 5 Dalton State men's tennis team opened the Southern States Athletic Conference tournament on Friday with a 6-3 win over Martin Methodist.
 
"It was a great first match," said Dalton State Coach Zack Rogers. "We were only a few points away from starting off doubles at 3-0, taking the matches at one and three to get off on the right foot."
 
In doubles,
 

1. Edberg Espinoza/Joe Bray (DS) def. Nicolas Galleguillo/Daniel Emirzian (MM) 8-2
2. Jesus Quesada/Raphael Monzione (MM) def. Jose Ruda/Sebastian Dartnell (DS) 8-6
3. Adam Hornby/Nikolay Nikiforov (DS) def. Farith Lozano/Brad Prada (MM) 8-3

 
Singles:
 

1. Jesus Quesada (MM) def. Edberg Espinoza (DS) 7-5, 3-1
2. Nicolas Galleguillo (MM) def. Jose Ruda (DS) 6-1, 6-0
3. Nikolay Nikiforov (DS) def. Daniel Emirzian (MM) 6-2, 6-2
4. Joe Bray (DS) def. Farith Lazano (MM) 6-2, 6-1
5. Adam Hornby (DS) def. Raphael Monzione (MM) 6-1, 6-0
6. Sebastian Dartnell (DS) def. Brad Prada (MM) 6-2, 6-2

 
With the victory, the Roadrunners improved to 16-4 on the season and are on a 16-match win streak. They play William Carey at 4:00 p.m. today in the semi-finals. The #10 Crusaders opened with a 6-3 elimination of Mobile, 6-3.

Also in the men's quarter-final round,: #2 Auburn-Montgomery handled Loyola of New Orleans, 9-0, while #8 Coastal Georgia bested #20 Middle Georgia State, 6-3.