ATLANTA, Ga. – The Nicholls State University men's tennis team picked up two points in singles, but Georgia State took the doubles point and won four singles matches in straight sets as Nicholls dropped a 5-2 decision Sunday at Blackburn Tennis Center.

“The guys played hard but came up short against a good team that competed hard,” said Nicholls tennis head coach Meenakshi Sundaram. “My guys are looking for a real leader on the team and when one of my seniors steps up, we will be extremely difficult to beat. With almost half the season gone, they are learning some valuable lessons which will serve them well as we head into the second half of the season.  Yet again, our doubles let us down and you simply cannot beat some of the teams we are playing against with just our singles prowess.”

Nicholls (5-4) went down 1-0 after doubles play, with Evan Karatzas/Roy Knight preventing the sweep with an 8-3 victory at No. 3.

In singles, Dmitry Kozionov put Nicholls on the board with a 6-4, 6-3 win against Thomas Cook at No. 2, but the Panthers would win the next four matches to seal the victory. Karatzas fell at No. 5, Damian Despotovski was ousted 6-3, 6-2 against No. 54 Victor Valente at No. 1 and Nico Mertens dropped a 7-5, 6-3 decision at No. 4.

Jeoffrey Noblecourt lost his match at No. 6 7-5, 7-6 before Knight gave Nicholls the final point, defeating Andrew Zedde 7-6, 6-2 at No. 4.

The Colonels will have over two weeks off, returning to the courts on Feb. 26 to host Alcorn State. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m.

#60 Georgia State 5, Nicholls 2
Singles competition
1. #54 Victor Valente (GSU) def. Damian Despotovski (NICH) 6-3, 6-2
2. Dmitry Kozionov (NICH) def. Thomas Cook (GSU) 6-0, 6-2
3. Lucas Santa Ana (GSU) def. Nico Mertens (NICH) 7-5, 6-3
4. Roy Knight (NICH) def. Andrew Zedde (GSU) 7-6, 6-2
5. Robert Schulze (GSU) def. Evan Karatzas (NICH) 6-2, 6-0
6. Paul Schuette (GSU) def. Jeoffrey Noblecourt (NICH) 7-5, 7-6 (7-4)

Doubles competition
1. Victor Valente/Lucas Santa Ana (GSU) def. Damian Despotovski/Sidharth Sivakumar (NICH) 8-4
2. Sofiane Chevallier/Robert Schulze (GSU) def. Dmitry Kozionov/Nico Mertens (NICH) 8-3
3. Evan Karatzas/Roy Knight (NICH) def. Thomas Cook/Paul Schuette (GSU) 8-3

Match Notes:
Nicholls 5-4
Georgia State 6-1; National ranking #60
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (2,5,1,3,6,4)