HOLLAND, Mich. – The Spring Arbor University men's tennis team opened its 2026–27 season with two draw championships at the Hope Invitational, led by Daniel Rodriguez Fortes' unbeaten performance in singles and doubles.
 
Rodriguez Fortes went 3–0 to win the B singles draw and teamed with Aziz Madatov for a 3–0 record and the A doubles title. The Cougars finished the event with 14 singles victories and six doubles wins.
 
In singles, Rodriguez Fortes defeated Calvin's Diego Castellanos 8–1 and Hope's Ian Williams 8–3 before securing the championship with a 6–4, 6–2 victory over Ohio Northern's Ethan Remy.
 
Madatov and Rodriguez Fortes opened doubles play with a 6–0 win over Calvin's Castellanos and Luis Henrique. They followed with a 6–3 victory over Hope's Cooper Nugent and Alec Maynard, then defeated Ohio Northern's Tyler Wood and Dylan Catanese 8–5 in the final.
 
Three other Cougars reached singles championship matches. Madatov finished runner-up in the A draw after earning an 8–5 opening win and a 9–7 semifinal victory. Andrei Negrut advanced to the C final, winning a semifinal tiebreaker 7–1 before narrowly falling to Hope's Rylen Doden 3–6, 6–3, 10–8. Miguel Carvalho won his first two matches to reach the D final.
 
Jaume Riera Galindo added two singles victories to win the A consolation bracket, defeating Hope's Nugent 8–5 and Calvin's Caleb Bartels 8–6.
 
Erik Alday Morales, Jakub Sevcik and MacKinley McNalley each recorded a singles win. SAU's three remaining doubles pairs – Riera Galindo and Negrut, McNalley and Carvalho, and Sevcik and Alday Morales – each finished 1–2.
 
Spring Arbor will compete in the Albion College Doubles Tournament in Albion, Michigan on Saturday, Sept. 19.