SAN ANTONIO, TX - The NJIT men's tennis team opened play in the Southland Conference Tournament on Thursday with a 4-0 victory over Nicholls in the quarterfinals to advance to Friday's semifinal round.

The second-seeded Highlanders improved to 17-5 with the victory and won the program's first-ever conference tournament match since moving to Division I. Nicholls wraps up its season with a 12-7 record. 

"I'm so proud of our guys for getting this first tournament win in the Southland Conference Tournament," explained third-year Head Coach Marco Matteucci. "We played well from start to finish and we are looking forward to tomorrow's semifinal against New Orleans...RollTech!"

The Highlanders dominated doubles play on Thursday as their second and third pairings won their respective matches to clinch the point, while the top pairing was leading 5-3 when the point was clinched. 

NJIT then earned straight-set victories at the #1, #4, and #5 positions to win the match 4-0.

The Highlanders top singles player, Pablo Perez Ramos, improved to 16-2 this season with a 6-1, 6-4 victory at first singles. NJIT also got straight-set wins from Pavel Petrov at fourth singles (6-2, 6-2) and Oscar Callo von Platen (6-4, 6-1) at fifth singles to clinch the win. Petrov's win was his 13th of the season, while Callo von Platen won his 15th.

NJIT will take on #6 New Orleans on Friday at 5pm (CT) with a spot in the championship on the line. The Southland Tournament winner will earn an automatic berth in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. New Orleans defeated third-seeded Bryant in Thursday's quarterfinal round.