ST. LOUIS - In the season opener, the Missouri Baptist Men's Tennis team finished 1st place at the Principia flighted invitational on Friday and Saturday. The tournament consisted of three schools who beat the Spartans last year; Principia College, Lindenwood-Belleville, and Quincy University.

"We have a lot of big goals this year and still have a lot of work to do," head coach Cole Stevenson said, "but the fact we didn't even bring our 'A' game and were able to comfortably beat three very solid teams is a great sign. I couldn't be more excited for what's to come."

The Spartans defeated Principia 9-1 on Friday morning then started off the afternoon with a sweep in singles against Lindenwood-Belleville. Play resumed Saturday morning as the Spartans swept Lindenwood-Belleville in doubles.

In a rematch from the fall defeat, the Spartans jumped out to an early lead against Quincy, winning two doubles matches. Although it was a highly-contested battle with the Hawks, the Spartans finished off with four wins in singles at #2, 3, 4, and 6, making the final score 6-4.

In doubles, the Spartans posted two undefeated teams at #1, Quinton Argent and Drew Morris, and #3, Tanner Morris and Sean Nanney. T. Morris and Nanney were on cruise control by only dropping eight total games including an 8-0 victory against Principia.

Conner Stevenson and newcomer Yann Herve won two matches while only losing to Quincy's Patrick Kuhle and Ryan McMillan. Herve, a transfer from Riverside Community College, is proving to be an asset in both singles and doubles for the Spartans.

Argent, Herve, and Ian Furey swept in singles at #2, 4, and 6 respectively. Furey, senior, gutted out a super tie-breaker against Lindenwood-Belleville and also clinched the victory over Quincy with a 6-3, 7-5 win. Furey was down 5-2 in the second set before coming back to win the match.

As the only Spartan to win every match in both singles and doubles, Argent won three nail-biting super tie-breakers in singles and one tie-breaker in doubles against Quincy's Ian Hinkamper and Ethan Arns. Argent transferred to Missouri Baptist this year after being the stand-out #1 at Lewis and Clark Community College for two years.

"Q, as we call him, was as clutch as you could be this weekend," Stevenson said. "He won virtually every big point. I have all the confidence in the world in him in the big moments."

The team will face the University of Illinois-Springfield on Feb 20. Play starts at 6:00 p.m. at Creve Coeur Racquet Club.

Final Results: