CLEVELAND, Miss. - The Harding men's tennis team moved to 12-4 on the season and 1-1 in Gulf South Conference play with a 9-0 blanking of Delta State on Friday. It was Harding's first men's tennis victory over Delta State since April 8, 2003, snapping a streak of seven losses.

The key doubles match was at No. 2 where Olzhas Taniyev and Chris Beach defeated Felipe Fonseca and Guilherme Russo, 9-8, winning 7-3 in the tiebreaker.

Harding swept the singles matches without losing a set. Marco Ruiz improved to a team-best 14-1 in singles. He teamed with his brother Henrique to win at No. 1 doubles and improve to 12-2 as a duo.

Tennis Match Results
Harding vs Delta State
Apr 03, 2009 at Cleveland, Miss.

Harding 9, Delta State 0

 Singles competition
1. Olzhas Taniyev (HU) def. Julien Beckensteiner (DSU) 6-0, 6-1
2. Henrique Ruiz (HU) def. Thiago Marion (DSU) 6-3, 6-1
3. Marco Ruiz (HU) def. Felipe Fonseca (DSU) 6-3, 6-0
4. Chris Beach (HU) def. Guilherme Russo (DSU) 6-3, 6-0
5. Brett Hoch (HU) def. Matt Dean (DSU), by default
6. Aldo Campos (HU) def. Tom Santos (DSU), by default

 Doubles competition
1. Marco Ruiz/Henrique Ruiz (HU) def. Thiago Marion/Julien Beckensteiner (DSU) 8-2
2. Olzhas Taniyev/Chris Beach (HU) def. Felipe Fonseca/Guilherme Russo (DSU) 9-8
3. Brett Hoch/Aldo Campos (HU) def. Tom Santos/Matt Dean (DSU) 8-0

Match Notes:
Harding 12-4, 1-1 GSC
Delta State 2-5, 1-2 GSC
Harding snapped a seven-match losing streak to Delta State, defeating the
Statesmen for the first time since a 5-4 victory on April 8, 2003.