MURFREESBORO – The Chowan University men’s tennis team opened their season with a 9-0 win over Shepherd University here Saturday morning.

With the win, the Hawks start off the season with a 1-0 overall record, while the Rams post a 0-1 overall record after the loss.

The doubles duo of Farid Hajizada and Adi Kaliakperov earned an 8-2 victory in the number one doubles position over Carter Davis and Shane Dempsey. Mateusz Izycki and Mariano Yeh blanked Will Wheatley and Austin Thomas by a score of 8-0 in the number two position, while Rafael Goncalves and Louis Proulx also won by a score of 8-0 in the number three position bringing the team score to 3-0 after doubles.

In singles play, the Hawks picked up a win at all six positions. In the number one position, Hajjizada defeated Davis 6-3, 6-3, while Izycki downed Dempsey 6-3, 6-3. In the third position, Goncalves took a 6-2, 6-0 win over Wheatley. Kaliakperov earned a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Thomas in the number four spot, while at the number five position Yeh defeated Kaleb Lochner 6-0, 6-1. Rounding out the scoring for the Hawks, Enrique Barge defeated Clay Smith 6-1, 6-1 in the number six singles position to secure the 9-0 win for Chowan.

The Hawks return to action on Sept. 16 when they travel to Newport News, VA to participate in the Christopher Newport University Invitational.