LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State men's tennis team looks to start the season off with a bang like it did last season. The Aggies currently occupy five of the six semifinalist positions in all three singles flights while its top doubles team is in the hunt for a championship as well.
 
Saturday kicked off with Christofer Goncalves and Luis Flores cruising past Western New Mexico's top doubles pair 8-2. It could've been an all Aggie semifinals for doubles too, but the Mustang's duo bested Stijn de Haan and Mauri Benitez 8-6 in the Crimson doubles bracket.
 
In the Crimson doubles North & South bracket, Enrique Asmar and Yusuke Nishitani are slated to play Arizona Christian's pair of Albert for fifth-place on Sunday after taking down Abilene Christian's pair 8-5. Sergi Espias and Alejandro Rosas Garcia will battle Mesa's doubles tandem after getting a bye Saturday.
 
Goncalves and de Haan both had a tough road to the semifinals, as the two dropped their first set in Crimson singles bracket before rallying back to grab the victory in the third set 6-1. Goncalves took down his doubles partner, Flores, while de Haan ousted Arizona's Carlos Hassey for a spot at the title.
 
Espias bested WNMU's Liam Fraboulet 6-4, 7-6 (5) in the Crimson North & South singles bracket and will square off against ACU's Paul Domanski tomorrow for fifth-place.
 
On the White singles flight, Benitez defeated New Mexico's Michael Tran 7-5, 6-2 for a date in the championship match against Asmar. Asmar narrowly edged ACU's Cole Lawson 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-3 for a chance at the title on Sunday at 10 a.m.
 
Rosas Garcia is the third Aggie playing in the championship match after defeating Arizona Christian's Marcelo Balderrama 6-1, 6-2. The Spaniard is scheduled to face off against Joanquin Delgado of Abilene Christian for the Black singles flight title.
 
Goncalves and Flores will compete for the doubles title at 9 a.m. (MT) while de Haan and Benitez look to take third-place. Meanwhile, Flores will take on Hassey for third-place in the Crimson singles bracket.
 
Be sure to come out to the NM State Tennis Center to see the Aggies have a chance at claiming