THIBODAUX, La. - The Nicholls State University men's tennis team improved to 2-0 in Southland play with a dominating 7-0 shutout victory over in-state rival New Orleans Wednesday at the Colonel Tennis Complex.

With the win, Nicholls improves to 9-7 on the year and keeps its undefeated home record intact with a 6-0 mark.

UNO (4-5, 1-1) was able to take the No. 1 court in doubles, but Kieran Cronin/ Lukas Clemens evened the score with a convincing 8-1 win at No. 2. In the No. 3 match, Partha Adavelly / Bernard Wezeman squeaked out an 8-7 (6) win over Chris Appelgren/ Rui Silva.

In singles play, Nicholls won five of the six matches in straight sets. In the top half of the lineup, Adavelly won 6-1, 7-5 at No. 1, Nico Mertens earned a shutout in his first set before winning 6-2 on the No. 2 court, and Clemens took both of his matches at No. 3 6-4.

Wezeman won 6-2, 6-2 at No. 4, Cronin earned a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 6 and Meessen bounced back from a 6-3 loss in his match at No. 5 to win 6-3, 10-7 to complete the Colonels' shutout.

Nicholls will step out of conference play with a Friday match against Tyler Junior College at home. First serve at the Colonel Tennis Complex is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Nicholls 7, New Orleans Privateers 0
Singles competition
1. Partha Adavelly (NICM) def. Rui Silva (UNOM) 6-1, 7-5
2. Nico Mertens (NICM) def. Gonzalo Garcia (UNOM) 6-0, 6-2
3. Lukas Clemens (NICM) def. Blake Gregor (UNOM) 6-4, 6-4
4. Bernard Wezeman (NICM) def. Luis Albuquerque (UNOM) 6-2, 6-2
5. Sam Meessen (NICM) def. Chris Appelgren (UNOM) 3-6, 6-3, 10-7
6. Kieran Cronin (NICM) def. Daniel Populus (UNOM) 6-2, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. Blake Gregor/Gonzalo Garcia (UNOM) def. Sam Meessen/Evan Karatzas (NICM) 8-3
2. Kieran Cronin/Lukas Clemens (NICM) def. Daniel Populus/Luis Albuquerque (UNOM) 8-1
3. Partha Adavelly/Bernard Wezeman (NICM) def. Chris Appelgren/Rui Silva (UNOM) 8-7 (10-6)

Match Notes:
New Orleans Privateers 4-5, 1-1
Nicholls 9-7, 3-0