HATTIESBURG, Miss.  – The Nicholls State University men's tennis team finished day one in the Southern Miss Invitational on Friday and came away with a total of six victories.

Nico Mertens went unscathed, defeating Cahit Kapukiran (Stetson), 6-2, 6-1 and Vinay Kamineni (New Orleans), 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-1 in the top flight for singles. Mertens then teamed up with Evan Karatzas in doubles to beat Lucas Dirube/David Cooper (UAB) 8-3.

Also going 2-0 in singles for the Colonels was James Russell. Playing in the No. 4 spot, Russell picked up a pair of straight set victories, defeating Egor Panyushkin (Stetson), 6-1, 6-2 and Lovro Curcija (New Orleans), 6-3, 6-4. Also earning a win for Nicholls was Roy Knight, who trumped Hossam Meligy (New Orleans), 6-1, 6-1.

Nicholls returns to the courts for day two on Saturday, starting at 10:30 a.m.

For complete results from Friday's action, please click here.