DENVER -- The MSU Denver men's tennis program earned a huge win in its exhibition match against Division I Northern Arizona on Thursday.

The Roadrunners faced the defending Big Sky Conference champions at home to kick off their senior weekend, and they walked away with a 5-2 victory.

"Big win for the program!" MSU Denver coach Josh Graetz said. "Northern Arizona is a really good team and for us to come away with the win is special."

Northern Arizona was 22-7 overall and 10-0 in conference play during the 2019 season, and this year is 5-6 overall and 3-0 in the Big Sky.

Three of the singles matches went three sets, and the Roadrunners were able to stay in control to seal the win in each match.

Jack McDermott and David Kijak had to earn their victories the hard way after winning their first sets and then dropping the second. But both executed on the big points in the final set with McDermott winning 6-3 in his final set, and Kijak winning his nail-biting third set in a tiebreak, 7-6 (7). 

Senior Alejandro Martinez-Morilla came back from a rough first set loss, 6-1, to win the second set 6-3, and he dominated in the final set, 6-2.

"I'm proud of the guys and how they handled their emotions towards the end of the match," Graetz said.

The Roadrunners did not get off to a good start after they dropped all three of the doubles matches, which gave the Lumberjacks the first point of the match. However, MSU Denver quickly regrouped and played solid tennis on the singles court. They went on to win five of the six singles matches to seal the victory.

Senior Daniel Llorente showed off his leadership by kicking off the dominant singles play winning his match 6-4, 7-6 (6).

"We are going to enjoy this one today, but make sure we quickly shift our focus to another big match tomorrow," Graetz said.

The Roadrunners take on their arch rival and Pacific West Conference foe Colorado Mesa on Friday at 2 p.m. at the Regency Athletic Complex. Their matchup is key as they prepare for the PacWest tournament in two weeks.

RESULTS
MSU Denver 5, Northern Arizona 2

DOUBLES
No. 1 Alex Groves/Dominik Buzonics (NAU) def. Mateo Besada/Daniel Llorente, 6-4
No. 2 Chris Steele/Eban Straker-Meads (NAU) def. Jeanloup Auzias/Jack McDermott, 6-2
No. 3 Daniel Dillon/Maciej Ziomber (NAU) def. David Kijak/Alejandro Martinez-Morilla, 6-3
 
SINGLES
No. 1 Daniel Llorente (MSUD) def. Chris Steele, 6-4, 7-6 (7)
No. 2 Jack McDermott (MSUD) def. Dominik Buzonics, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
No. 3 Alejandro Martinez-Morilla (MSUD) def. Maciej Ziomber, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
No. 4 Alex Groves (NAU) def. Mateo Besada, 7-5, 6-4
No. 5 David Kijak (MSUD) def. Joachin Schaefer, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7)
No. 6 Jeanloup Auzias (MSUD) def. Marcus Sulen, 6-3, 7-5