ETTRICK, Va. – In its fifth match of the season, the Shaw University men's tennis team finally picked up its first victory of the season with a 6-1 road win at Virginia State University Thursday afternoon on the campus of VSU.

The victory snapped a four-game skid for the Bears as they now stand 1-4 on the season while the Trojans drop to 0-1 on the year.

The Bears opened up the match with a 1-0 lead after doubles competition that featured a 6-4 win at the No. 1 doubles by junior Diego Leal (Bucaramanga, Columbia) and senior Ngonidzashe Makambwa (Mabelreigh Harare, Zimbabwe). Senior Daniel Ac (Kikinda, Serbia) and junior Diego Nino (Bogota, Columbia) teamed up for a 6-0 win at the No. 2 doubles as the No. 3 was defaulted by VSU, resulting in a win for Shaw.

The Trojans took the No. 1 singles with a score of 6-0, 6-4 but the Bears would take five-straight singles as Makambwa picked up a 6-2, 6-3 win at the No. 2 position, followed by Nino with a 6-1, 6-3 win and Ac taking a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 3 singles. Junior Destiny Udofe (Brampton, ON) earned a 6-1, 6-0 win at the No. 5 singles before the Trojans defaulted the No. 6 singles.

Shaw will return to action on Sunday, Mar. 17 against Averett for a home match. First serve is slated for 1 p.m. at Lions Park (516 Dennis Ave, Raleigh, NC 27604).

For the most up-to-date information on Shaw men's tennis and its 13 varsity sport teams, visit shawbears.com.