LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State men's tennis team had a great start to the season on Sunday, winning a pair of singles flights and the top doubles flight on Sunday to close out the 2017 Aggie Invitational at the NM State Tennis Center.
 
Christofer Goncalves and Luis Flores kicked things off with an 8-5 victory over Western New Mexico's Pablo Santibanez and Vladimir Gnilozubov. Stijn de Haan and Mauri Benitez took home the third-place match, ousting Arizona's pair of Carlos Hassey and Andres Reyes 8-6.
 
In the Crimson North & South doubles flight, Enrique Asmar and Yusuke Nishitani fell to Arizona Christian's Albert Lapeidra and Daniel Superlano 8-6. Sergi Espias and Alejandro Rosas Garcia defeated their foes from Mesa Community College 8-3 on the other end of the bracket.
 
Goncalves and de Haan were deemed co-champions in the Crimson singles flight after their match was not played. This is the second-straight year de Haan has captured the singles title at the Aggie Invitational after beating Goncalves last year. In the third-place match, Flores was bested by Arizona's Hassey 6-3, 6-1 while Espias defeated Abilene Christian's Paul Domanski by the same score in the Crimson North & South flight.
 
Benitez got the best of fellow teammate Asmar to claim the White singles flight by a score of 6-4, 6-3 while Nishitani sent WNMU's Santibanez packing with a 6-4, 6-1 victory in the White North & South singles flight.
 
Newcomer Rosas Garcia nearly made it a singles sweep for NM State, but wound up falling to ACU's Joaquin Delgado 6-4, 6-4 in the Black singles flight. In the north & south flight, Luis Garza was bested 6-4, 6-2 by the Mustangs' Jose Mario Neto.
 
New Mexico State won't have much time to prepare as the team takes a short trek to Tucson, Ariz., for the Arizona Wildcat Invitational starting next Friday, Sept. 22. Meanwhile, Goncalves heads to Malibu, Calif., for the ITA Master (Sept. 21-24).