GREENVILLE, N.C. - The men's tennis team got their season off to a positive start today with a convincing 6-1 win over the Norfolk State Spartans indoors at East Carolina University.

As has been the history with the Owls (1-0), the depth of the team drove the team to victory, with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles wrapping up the doubles point, followed by wins at No. 2 through No.6 in singles.

"We didn't play great tennis today," commented Head Coach #T.J. Greggs#, "but we did enough to win.  We will need to raise our level in the future when we face more difficult teams on our schedule.  It's still a solid way to start the season, and I was pleased with the effort we showed."

In doubles, the first-time pairing of captains Simon Janik and Michael Browder got the Owls off to the right start at No. 2 doubles, routing their Spartan opponents, 8-2.  A loss at No. 1 by the freshmen duo of Alex Toliver and Louis Theodor was followed by a come from behind win for the all-Turkish team of Gianni Kubin and Gokalp Ozdemir, who trailed 6-5 before rattling off the last three games to take the match, 8-6.

"We work very hard at doubles," added Greggs.  "Simon and Michael played an excellent match and did a good job of keeping their teammates pumped up."

In the singles, the Owls raced to quick leads in the top three spots, dropping only two games between the three courts in the first sets of those matches.  Owl No. 3 Louis Theodor rolled through his match in straight sets.  Norfolk State (0-4) would fight back and make things interesting at the top two spots, and the Owls split those matches, both of which went three sets.  At No. 2, Janik pulled out a thrilling 6-0, 3-6, 7-5 win over Norfolk State's Arsenio Culver, who has played No. 1 for the Spartans for the past three seasons.  Owl No. 1 Alex Toliver fought back from a break down in the third set, before eventually falling, 1-6, 6-1, 7-5 to Spartan No. 1 Ben Marks.

The Owls clinched the victory when junior Gianni Kubin, who was celebrating his 21st birthday, dominated Christian Romanzini, 6-2, 6-2.  The Owls finished off the match with wins at the No. 5 and No. 6 position, both in straight sets.  Ozdemir downed Daniel Grauel 7-5, 6-3 at No. 5 and freshman Alexander Pena picked up his first collegiate dual match win with a 6-0, 7-6(5) victory over Roosevelt Cooper.

The Owls will return to the court on Sunday at 11:00 a.m., and take on East Carolina University (1-0), who defeated Norfolk State on Friday by the same score.

Results:
KSU 6, Norfolk State 1

Doubles
1) Marks/Culver (NSU) def. Alex Toliver/Louis Theodor (KSU), 8-4
2) Simon Janik/Michael Browder (KSU) def. Braga/Romanzini (NSU), 8-2
3) Gianni Kubin/Gokalp Ozdemir (KSU) def. Grauel/Mourillon (NSU), 8-6
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3*
* - clinched doubles point

Singles
1) Ben Marks (NSU) def. Alex Toliver (KSU), 1-6, 6-1, 7-5
2) Simon Janik (KSU) def. Arsenio Culver (NSU), 6-0, 3-6, 7-5
3) Louis Theodor (KSU) def. Igor Braga (NSU), 6-1, 6-4
4) Gianni Kubin (KSU) def. Christian Romanzini (NSU), 6-2, 6-2
5) Gokalp Ozdemir (KSU) def. Daniel Grauel (NSU), 7-5, 6-3
6) Alexander Pena (KSU) def. Roosevelt Cooper (NSU), 6-0, 7-6(5)
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2, 4*, 6, 5
* - clinched match