THIBODAUX – After two postponements, the Nicholls State University tennis teams were finally able to play their home openers against Alcorn State on Friday, and both teams came away with victories - the men took their match 7-0 while the women won 4-3.

The women's team, playing in their first match of the season, came into the contest shorthanded. Senior Florina Nosca and junior Tatiana Denezhkina won No. 1 doubles, 8-6, while senior Sumana Kalyanasundaram and freshman Marina Ljoshevska fell in a heated battle, 9-8 (7). With the forfeit in the No. 3 match, the Lady Braves earned the point for doubles.

Alcorn picked up two points in singles play via the forfeit; however, Nicholls swept the four matches handedly to earn the win. In No. 1 play, Nosca won 6-0, 6-2, while Kalyanasundaram shutout her opponent in No. 2 action. Denezhkina took her match 6-1, 6-2, and Ljoshveska picked up a 6-3, 6-1 victory.

After losing a tough match on Sunday, the men (1-2) secured their first win of the season with a 7-0 shutout against Alcorn State (0-3). The Colonels started the match by rolling through doubles play with all three duos picking up easy victories.

In singles action, freshman Shayann Vaezzadeh blanked his opponent in the No. 2 match while freshman Damjan Despotovski and sophomore Dmitry Kozionov won each of their sets 6-1. Sophomore Roy Knight won 6-2, 6-0; sophomore Palash Tiwari stayed undefeated on the year with a 6-1, 6-0 victory; and senior Razvan Cojocaru won his match 7-6 (10), 4-2.

Both Colonel teams return to action on Sunday when they host Xavier University (La.) at the Colonel Tennis Complex at 1:00 p.m.

Complete listings for both matches are below:

Women's Results
Nicholls 4, Alcorn State 3

Singles competition
1. Florina Nosca (NICH) def. Arielle Buchman (ASU) 6-0, 6-2
2. S. Kalyanasundaram (NICH) def. Kerstan Vanem (ASU) 6-0, 6-0
3. Tatiana Denezhkina (NICH) def. Merilin Tipp (ASU) 6-1, 6-2
4. Marina Ljoshevska (NICH) def. Daria Rud (ASU) 6-3, 6-1
5. Kati Hoepelman (ASU) def. No player (NICH), by forfeit
6. Chan Rutherford (ASU) def. No player (NICH), by forfeit

Doubles competition
1. Florina Nosca/Tatiana Denezhkina (NICH) def. Daria Rud/Chan Rutherford (ASU) 8-6
2. Kerstan Vanem/Merilin Tipp (ASU) def. S. Kalyanasundaram/Marina Ljoshevska (NICH) 9-8 (7-5)
3. Arielle Buchman/Kati Hoepelman (ASU) def. No player/No player (NICH), by forfeit

Men's Results
Nicholls 7, Alcorn State 0

Singles competition
1. Damjan Despotovski (NICH) def. Anton Krutkin (ASU) 6-1, 6-1
2. Shayann Vaezzadeh (NICH) def. Alexander Lidzar (ASU) 6-0, 6-0
3. Dmitry Kozionov (NICH) def. Alejandro Dominguez (ASU) 6-1, 6-1
4. Roy Knight (NICH) def. Y. Shearron-Hawkins (ASU) 6-2, 6-0
5. Palash Tiwari (NICH) def. P. Rajpurouit (ASU) 6-1, 6-0
6. Razvan Cojocaru (NICH) def. Winfried Weinbeer (ASU) 7-6 (10-8), 4-2, retired

Doubles competition
1. Damjan Despotovski/Dmitry Kozionov (NICH) def. Anton Krutkin/Alexander Lidzar (ASU) 8-1
2. Roy Knight/Palash Tiwari (NICH) def. Winfried Weinbeer/P. Rajpurouit (ASU) 8-3
3. Shayann Vaezzadeh/Matshidiso Malope (NICH) def. Y. Shearron-Hawkins/Alejandro Dominguez (ASU) 8-4