THIBODAUX – The Nicholls State University men's tennis team welcomed Cleveland State University to the Colonel Tennis Complex on Wednesday afternoon and continued their strong play at home with a resilient 4-3 victory over the Vikings.

With the win, Nicholls climbs back to .500 on the year at 7-7 while also putting a halt to their four-match skid. The Colonels have now won three of four home matches this season and are slated for another home contest against Jackson State on Sunday.

The Colonels dropped the No. 1 doubles match as Dmitry Kozionov and Roy Knight were bested by CSU 8-4. However, the No. 2 and No. 3 duos were able to come out on top as Nicholls took the doubles point to lead 1-0. Palash Tiwari and Damjan Despotovski grabbed an 8-5 win at the No. 2 position while Shayann Vaezzadeh and Matshidiso Malope dominated the Vikings in the No. 3 slot with an 8-2 victory.

In singles play, Despotovski, Tiwari and Malope continued their stellar play to finish undefeated on the day. Despotovski took the No. 1 match 6-1, 6-3; Tiwari picked up a tight 7-6, 7-6 victory in No. 5 and Malope earned a 6-4, 6-4 win at the sixth slot. Cleveland State was able to take the other three matches as Vaezzadeh fell 6-3, 6-2 at No. 2; Kozionov lost 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 at No. 3 while Knight was defeated 6-1, 6-3.

The Colonels return to action on March 20 with a match against Jackson State at the Colonel Tennis Complex. First serve is set for 2 p.m.

The complete results for the match against CSU are listed below.

Nicholls 4, Cleveland State 3

Singles competition
1. Damjan Despotovski (NICH) def. GOOSSENS, Yannick (CSU) 6-1, 6-3
2. Fox, Rob (CSU) def. Shayann Vaezzadeh (NICH) 6-3, 6-2
3. KUELKER, Matt (CSU) def. Dmitry Kozionov (NICH) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
4. KLEPATZ, Chris (CSU) def. Roy Knight (NICH) 6-1, 6-3
5. Palash Tiwari (NICH) def. HALEY, John (CSU) 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5)
6. Matshidiso Malope (NICH) def. FORD, Matt (CSU) 6-4, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. Fox/HALEY (CSU) def. Kozionov/ Knight (NICH) 8-4
2. Tiwari/ Despotovski (NICH) def. GOOSSENS/KUELKER(CSU) 8-5
3. Vaezzadeh/ Malope (NICH) def. KLEPATZ/FORD(CSU) 8-2