Nov. 1, 2002

Samford freshman Johnny Griffee was what coach Kemper Baker called "the surprise of the tournament so far," winning two matches to advance to the quarterfinals of the Men's Open Singles "B" Division in the first round of the 2002 Bulldog Open at Lakeshore Tennis Center.

Griffee defeated Sammy Saluri of Shorter College 6-0, 6-3 in the first round and independent Marcos Mendez 6-0, 6-3. Griffee meets Jamaal Brown of Tennessee State at 8 a.m. Saturday.

Travis Johnson sprung a big upset, defeating Stig Stroem of Auburn-Montgomery 7-6 (9-7), 6-3 in the first round before losing to Lars Ranger, the No. 1 seed in the "A" Draw, 6-4, 6-1.

Joey Jensen won a match in the "B" Draw, 6-1, 6-1 over Matt Davis of Jacksonville State, before losing to Nickolas Vasquez of Shorter College 6-3, 7-6 in the second round.

"I'm really pleased with the way the tournament has gone the first day," said Baker. "We had a strong field of teams show up to participate. I'm really appreciative for CiCi's Pizza and Hibbitt Sports and Coke for helping us to put on a great event."

Andres Leal lost 6-3, 6-0 to Nathan Smith of UA-Huntsville in the "B" Draw. Clive Yeo lost to Wallace State's David Butler 6-4, 4-6, 10-6 in the "C" Draw. Raphael Bohli lost to Pablo Juarez of Shorter College 6-3, 6-2.

The tournament continues Saturday with quarter- and semifinal singles action in the morning and evening, plus doubles play in the afternoon. The finals will be held on Sunday at the Lakeshore Tennis Facility.