MARSHALL, Texas – McMurry men's tennis opened the 2016 season with a pair of wins versus American Southwest Conference foes on Saturday. The War Hawks (2-0) pitched a pair of shutouts by identical 9-0 scores over LeTourneau University in the morning and over East Texas Baptist University in the afternoon.
 
In the day's opening match at LeTourneau, the War Hawks swept all three doubles matches and then won all six singles bouts in straight sets.
 
McM's No. 2 doubles tandem of Kie Jones and Ethan Rodriguez topped the Yellow Jackets' duo of Caleb Epps and Tyler Grove, 8-4. The number one doubles team of Carlos Perez and Hunter Ward, along with the number three tandem of Rayce Roberson and Clayton Pope, won by identical 9-7 scores.
 
At first singles, Perez blitzed LETU's Michael McLaughlin, 6-1, 6-1 and Roberson toppled Morgan Weaver, 6-0, 6-1 at No. 2.  Ward defeated the Yellow jackets Grove at No. 3 singles, 6-2, 6-0, with Pope winning at No. 4, 6-1, 6-2, over Robby Bundy.
 
Jones dispatched of LETU's Epps by scores of 6-1, 6-3 at No. 5.  At No. 6 singles, Travis Gough had a tough first set win over Curtis Martin, 7-6 (10-3), before pulling away in the second set, 6-0.
 
At ETBU, things went much the same for McM, rolling past the Tigers.
 
Perez and Ward won at No. 1 doubles, 9-7. At No. 2 doubles, the Jones-Rodriguez duo won 8-2, as did Roberson and Kendall Mann at No. 3.
 
Perez, at No. 1 singles had the team's toughest contest, winning 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 over ETBU's Tyler Tolopka. Winning at the Nos. 2-6 spots were: Roberson (6-2, 6-0); Ward (6-1, 6-4); Pope (6-4, 6-2); Jones (8-4); and Mann (8-1).
 
McMurry will close its weekend road trip with a match versus perennial power University of Texas-Tyler on Sunday (Jan. 31) at 3 p.m.