NORFOLK, Va. – After rallying to claim the doubles point, nationally-ranked Radford got three singles victories from its upperclassmen to defeat Columbia 4-0 in men's tennis action Saturday morning at the Folkes-Stevens Indoor Tennis Center.

With their second shutout of the season, the Highlanders improve to 5-1, while Columbia falls to 2-1 on the young campaign.

"Columbia is a very tough indoor competitor,” said Highlander head coach Mike Anderson. “We felt fortunate to have taken the doubles point. Winning this match really shows how well we are playing as a team."

After teaming with Zack Watson (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) to win 8-3 at the top doubles spot, Radford's Martin Sayer (Hong Kong / Sagemont Virtual School) cruised by Jon Wong in the first singles match to record his 99th career victory.

Watson added to his 2009 unblemished singles record (6-0) with a straight-set win over Sho Matsumoto, 6-2, 7-5, to put the Highlanders up 3-0 in the match.

With two of the singles tilts in the third set and the other midway through the second, Mehdi Benhammou (Rabat, Morocco / Descartes) clinched Radford's third straight triumph with a 6-4, 6-4 decision at the third seed.

The Highlanders will conclude their trip to the Tidewater area with a 10 a.m. match against Old Dominion Sunday morning at 10 a.m. 

#67 Radford University 4, Columbia 0
Singles competition
1. SAYER, Martin (RADFORD) def. WONG, Jon (COL) 6-4, 6-1
2. NICHIFOR, Mihai (COL) vs. SALEC, Ivan (RADFORD) no result
3. BENHAMMOU, Mehdi (RADFORD) def. BORTA, Bogdan (COL) 6-4, 6-4
4. SEZGEN, Ekin (COL) vs. BOJIC, Stefan (RADFORD), no result
5. SCHNEIDERMAN, Haig (COL) vs. OGRIZEK, Igor (RADFORD) no result
6. WATSON, Zack (RADFORD) def. MATSUMOTO, Sho (COL) 6-2, 7-5

Doubles competition
1. SAYER, Martin/WATSON, Zack (RADFORD) def. NICHIFOR, Mihai/BORTA, Bogdan (COL) 8-3
2. BENHAMMOU, Mehdi/SALEC, Ivan (RADFORD) def. SCHNEIDERMAN, Haig/WONG, Jon (COL) 8-6
3. OGRIZEK, Igor/BOJIC, Stefan (RADFORD) def. URBAN, Dan/SEZGEN, Ekin (COL) 7-6

Match Notes
Columbia 2-1
Radford University 5-1; National ranking #67
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,6,3)