EDINBURG, Texas – The Nicholls State University men's tennis team improved to 2-1 in the Southland Conference after dominating singles play against Texas Pan-American as the Colonels took a 6-1 decision Tuesday at the Orville Cox Tennis Center.

Nicholls (4-3) fell behind against the Broncs (1-4, 0-1) after doubles action, losing the top two matches to surrender the point. Nico Mertens/Dmitry Kozionov fell 8-2 at No. 2 against Panditi/Felix Hasselberg before Damian Despotovski/Sidharth Sivakumar dropped an 8-5 decision to Sebastien Job/Alejandro Sanoja at No. 1. Roy Knight/Evan Karatzas held a 7-4 lead at No. 3 but the match went unfinished.

In singles, the Colonels opened up with three straight-set victories in the top half of the order. Mertens won both of his sets at No. 3 against Panditi 6-2, followed by a Kozionov 6-3, 6-2 win against Ricardo Hopker. Despotovski won in the No. 1 match versus Thomas Panoulas 6-1, 6-4 to give Nicholls a 3-1 lead.

At No. 5, Karatzas, playing in his first singles action of the season, sealed the win for the Colonels by defeating Job 7-5, 6-1. Knight and Sivakumar completed the sweep in singles at No. 4 and No. 6, respectively, with three set victories.  

“It was a tough match today to come back after being down in doubles. There's a lot of work to be done to get our doubles ready, and they will be,” said Nicholls tennis head coach Meenakshi Sundaram. “Our guys showed a lot of heart playing in tough conditions, especially after a 12-hour drive. Evan (Karatzas) won the deciding point after clawing his way back from being down 5-2 in the first set. He showed great character and heart, especially from a freshman who is making his debut for Nicholls. And my seniors continue to show their maturity and what it means for them to play for Nicholls. Just a great team effort.”

The Colonels will return to the courts next weekend with two matches in Georgia, starting Saturday against Kennesaw State.

Nicholls 6, Texas-Pan American 1
Singles competition
1. Damian Despotovski (NICH) def. Thomas Panoulas (UTPA) 6-1, 6-4
2. Dmitry Kozionov (NICH) def. Ricardo Hopker (UTPA) 6-3, 6-2
3. Nico Mertens (NICH) def. Chetan Panditi (UTPA) 6-2, 6-2
4. Roy Knight (NICH) def. Alejandro Sanoja (UTPA) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
5. Evan Karatzas (NICH) def. Sebastien Job (UTPA) 7-5, 6-1
6. Sidharth Sivakumar (NICH) def. Victor Alves (UTPA) 3-6, 7-5, 10-5

Doubles competition
1. Sebastien Job/Alejandro Sanoja (UTPA) def. Damian Despotovski/Sidharth Sivakumar (NICH) 8-5
2. Chetan Panditi/Felix Hasselberg (UTPA) def. Nico Mertens/Dmitry Kozionov (NICH) 8-2
3. Thomas Panoulas/Victor Alves (UTPA) vs. Roy Knight/Evan Karatzas (NICH) 4-7, unfinished

Match Notes:
Nicholls 4-3, 2-1 SLC
Texas-Pan American 1-4, 0-1 SLC
Order of Finish (doubles)- 2,1,3
Order of Finish (singles)- 3,2,1,5,6,4