OLEAN, NY – The Alfred University men's tennis team opened Empire 8 play with a 6-1 win over Nazareth University on Saturday.
 
"A great team performance," Head Coach Jake Fisler said. "This is an awesome example of how far the program has come and that the process works. This is a group that is obsessed with the process of getting better every day. Proud of the guys and this was definitely a team win."
 
Low temperatures forced the Saxons (5-3, 1-0 Empire 8) to move the match indoors at St. Bonaventure University. But it still didn't stop AU from earning its first conference win of the season against the Golden Flyers (0-5, 0-1 Empire 8).
 
The Saxons swept doubles to start with a 1-0 advantage. Breece Erickson (Goshen, IN/Bethany Christian) and André López Jiménez (Mexico City, Mexico/PrepaTec Esmeralda) dominated at No. 2 with a 6-0 victory. López Jiménez earned his 11th doubles win of the season, breaking the single-season record. He surpassed six Saxon alumni for this honor, with the previous record most recently set by Matt Baloga '16 and Connor Doud '16 during the 2015-16 season. Ricardo Alvarez Jaink (La Orotova, Spain/Colegio Casa Azul) and Anlun Zwerver (Koog Aan De Zaan, The Netherlands/Blaise Pascal College) took No. 1 by a score of 6-1 while Matthew Bittel (Wellsville, NY/Wellsville) and Josh Erickson (Falconer, NY/Falconer) won by two at No. 3, 6-4.
 
AU wrapped up the match with five victories in singles. Zwerver notched his fifth career singles victory at No. 4 by scores of 6-0, 6-1. López Jiménez registered a win at No. 2, taking the first set, 6-2, before coming out on top after a narrow 6-4 victory in the second.
 
The Saxons will next play at Houghton University on Wednesday at 4:00 PM.