COLUMBUS, Ga. – The No. 19 University of West Alabama men's tennis team suffered a 6-1 decision to No. 6 Columbus State University, Saturday morning from the John W. Walden Tennis Center. 

UWA falls to 0-2 on the year, while CSU improves to 3-0 in an early season battle of preseason top 20 teams in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) national rankings. 

"The Columbus men are contending for the national title, and they are a good team, especially at home. We competed pretty well today, but we need to keep working hard and getting better," said head coach Jeff Beaman. 

The Cougars took care of doubles play with wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots in the order. 

The Tigers avoided the shutout with the win thanks to Wilson Igbinovia's three-set victory over Justin Welz. After falling in the first set 7-5, Igbinovia forced the deciding set with a 6-1 rout. Going to the 10-point tiebreak, the UWA sophomore won the point by a 10-4 result. 

West Alabama returns to action with a trip to Rome, Georgia to open Gulf South Conference play with Shorter on Friday at 1 p.m. CST.