THIBODAUX - The Nicholls State University men's tennis team will open up their 2011 campaign against South Alabama on Monday, Jan. 31, at the Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts at 1 p.m.

Under first-year head coach Meenakshi Sundaram, the Colonels will be looking to continue the success of their 2010 season which saw Nicholls claim a program-best 14 victories. The Colonels also picked up two wins in Southland play and reached the conference tournament for the second straight season.

Leading the Colonels are a pair of All-Southland honorees, sophomores Dmitry Kozionov and Roy Knight. Kozionov, who was named First Team and Freshman of the Year by both the Southland Conference and the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, posted a conference-best 15-4 record in singles play while Knight had nine victories in doubles and 10 in singles.

Also returning for Nicholls are senior Razvan Cojocaru, who notched six wins in singles play, and junior El-Fadel Ningbinnin.

Newcomers to the 2011 squad include a pair of freshmen, Damjan Despotovski and Shayann Vaezzadeh, and sophomores Matshidiso Malope and Palash Tiwari.

First serve is set for 1 p.m. Nicholls took last season's matchup against South Alabama, 5-2.