NEWBERRY - The Newberry men's tennis team eased to an 8-1 victory in its season opener at the Cannon Tennis Courts as the Wolves topped the Benedict Tigers on Wednesday afternoon.

After a delay of an hour due to rain, the Wolves (1-0) took to their home court and cruised to three 8-3 victories in doubles action against the Tigers (0-1). Seniors Michael Saunders (Christchurch, New Zealand) and Vinicius Botelho (Fortaleza, Brazil) earned their first victory of the year at No. 1, while senior David Sons (Lexington, S.C.) and junior Mohammed Chakir (Rabat, Morocco) knocked off Justin Payton and Takudswa Muswere 8-3 at No. 2.

The Wolves wrapped up doubles with an 8-3 win at No. 3 by junior Carlos Nicolopulos (Valencia, Venezuela) and senior Jeffery Kiser (Newberry, S.C.).

Singles play saw strong performances at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots. At No. 1, Saunders topped Zibusiso Ndimande in straight sets, while Botelho picked up a win in two sets over Payton. No. 3 saw sophomore Fernando Espana (Madrid, Spain) pick up a win in three sets over Muswere.

With Newberry already clinching the team victory, the final three singles matches were played as a “pro-set”, with Newberry picking up two of the three final points. Sons topped Plater 8-1 at No. 5, while Kiser shutout Frrukh Edgarov at No. 6.

Newberry opens conference play on Saturday at Anderson, with a scheduled 2 p.m. start.