SAVANNAH, Ga. (January 27, 2018) – New Webber International University Head Tennis Coach Otis Cutshaw is trying to bring a level of competitiveness to Webber tennis that it has never seen before. Well, Coach Cutshaw and the rest of the Webber tennis Warriors got off to a great start as the Webber men defeated No. 18 SCAD Savannah 7-2 while the Webber women fell to No. 5 SCAD 9-0 on Saturday in the 2018 season opener for both teams.

The Webber men (1-0 overall, 1-0 The Sun Conference) led 2-1 at the completion of doubles action as Hugo Hasegawa and Ivan Bonderanko teamed up for a 9-7 win at No. 1 doubles while Kyle Hall and Matthew Alexander were victorious by forfeit at No. 3 doubles.

The Warriors then earned victories in singles action by Hasegawa (6-2, 6-4) in No. 1 singles, Bonderanko (7-6, 6-2) in No. 2 singles, Marc Schneider (7-5, 6-2) in No. 3 singles, Lucas Bingenheimer (6-1, 6-1) in No. 5 singles, and Hall (forfeit) at the No. 6 spot.

"I am happy with a win and any win is a good win, but to open the season with a victory over the No. 18 team in the country is really sweet" said Cutshaw. "We still have a lot of work to do, but we are heading in the right direction."

The Webber men have already improved their standing from a year ago when they went 0-12 overall and 0-5 in the conference.

Although Alexander did fall in No. 4 singles action, he did win the opening set to force a third as the decision went 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

For the Webber women (0-1, 0-1), Emily John fell 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2 singles, Jenna Fosdick fell 6-4, 6-0 at No. 3 singles, and Svenja Koenig fell 6-0, 6-3 at No. 4 singles. At No. 1 doubles on the women's side, Fosdick and John fell 8-1.

Next up, the Webber women will open up at home on the Webber tennis courts against Broward College in nonconference action scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 3. Then, both the Webber men and the women will host their first home conference match of the season as Keiser University (ranked No. 3 in both men's and women's tennis) comes to town on Saturday, February 10.