RICHMOND, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky University men’s tennis team opened OVC competition Friday afternoon with a 6-1 victory over rival Murray State. With the win, the Colonels (8-8, 1-0 OVC) improved to 7-0 in home matches.

Junior Alex Das (No. 1) returned to the EKU line-up after missing a month of action and proceeded to tally a straight set victory over Murray State’s Ben Clos. Sophomores Carles Pons (No. 5) and Philip Janz (No. 6) also rolled to victory in two sets.

“Having Alex Das back is a huge asset to the team’s overall confidence level as you can tell by the results,” Eastern Kentucky head coach Rob Oertel said.

The Colonels are right back in action tomorrow, March 20, with another home OVC match against Tennessee State. Match time is set for 1 p.m.

Eastern Kentucky 6, Murray State 1

Singles
1. Alex Das (EKU) def. Ben Clos (MUR) 6-3, 6-2
2. Niklas Schroeder (EKU) def. Jorge Caetano (MUR) 7-6, 3-6, (10-8)
3. Hugo Klientovsky (EKU) def. Luka Milicevic (MUR) 5-7, 6-1, (10-8)
4. Renaldo Domoney (MUR) def. Carlos Valdenebro (EKU) 6-1, 6-1
5. Carles Pons (EKU) def. Jadir Semensin (MUR) 6-1, 6-3
6. Philip Janz (EKU) def. Jose Berardo (MUR) 6-0, 6-3

Doubles
1. Janz/Schroeder (EKU) def. Caetano/Clos (MUR) 9-7
2. Das/Valdenebro (EKU) def. Johnson/Semensin (MUR) 8-3
3. Domoney/Milicevic (MUR) def. Klientovsky/Pons (EKU) 9-8 (0)

Match Notes: Eastern Kentucky (8-8, 1-0 OVC); Murray State (1-5, 0-1 OVC)
Order of Finish: Doubles (2, 1, 3); Singles (5, 6, 1*, 4, 3, 2)