Score: Kennesaw State 6, NJIT 1
Records: Kennesaw State (9-7, 1-3), NJIT (8-7, 0-4)
Key Players:  Simon Pritchard (7-5, 6-2); Manuel Castellanos (6-3, 6-1); Lucas de Torres Curth (6-2, 6-1); Drew Wendel (6-0, 6-3); Sam Slade (2-6, 6-2, 10-7)

Season Stats (PDF)

KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State men's tennis team won its first Atlantic Sun Conference dual match on Thursday evening, 6-1, over visiting NJIT at the Betty Student Center.

The Owls took the all-important doubles points, taking the doubles matches with tandems of David Durham/Drew Wendel (6-2), Manuel Castellanos/Simon Pritchard (6-1) and Sam Slade/Jorge Wilton to take a 1-0 edge into singles play.

On a windy day, Kennesaw State jumped out early in singles play and never looked back in a dual match in which they never trailed.

Wendel began singles play with a 6-0, 6-3 two-set victory over NJIT, before Castellanos (6-3, 6-1) followed. Lucas de Torres Curth secured the A-Sun victory with a two-set match victory (6-2, 6-1) over Arnaud Holl on court four to take a 4-0 lead.

Kennesaw State and the Highlanders continued play as Sam Slade took a hard-fought three-set win over NJIT, 2-6, 6-2, 10-7 in the tiebreak.

For Kennesaw State, the victory gave its ninth win of the season and the most wins under Directory of Tennis Eduardo Rincon, and now sit just two wins away from setting a new single-season win mark in program history.

Coach Rincon Quote
"It was great to get our first conference win. The last five matches have been really close and this is good for the team and program. The conference is very deep and there are no easy matches this season. USC Upstate will be a tough match, especially at home, but it will be a good match. They are very well coached and it won't be an easy task but we are up to the challenge.
 - Kennesaw State Director of Tennis Eduardo Rincon

Next Up
The Owls will Atlantic Sun action as they take on USC Upstate in Spartanburg, S.C. on Saturday afternoon.

To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State men's tennis news follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUMensTennis or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.