 |  |
Spartans open spring schedule against Winthrop at Starmount on Saturday
UNCG (0-0) vs. Winthrop (1-1), Jan. 23, 4 p.m., Starmount Forest CC Indoor Courts
Storylines
• UNCG's men's tennis team opens the spring portion of its schedule when it hosts Winthrop at the Starmount Forest Country Club Indoor Courts on Saturday at 4 p.m.
• The Spartans are coming off a 2009-10 campaign that saw them post a 17-6 overall record, win the Southern Conference tournament and advance to the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. UNCG fell to six-time NCAA champion Georgia in the first round, 4-0.
• UNCG went 8-2 in SoCon play last season, leading the league for much of the season and finishing in third place.
• The Spartans return six student-athletes from last season's squad, including junior Orcun Seyrek, a two-time first-team All-SoCon selection and the 2008-09 SoCon Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. Also returning are seniors Andrew Clark and Yaroslav Litus, junior Jacob Wright, sophomore Timion Meijs and redshirt freshman Zach Reese.
• Newcomers Jimmy Roueche, Ahmet Sarioglu and Chanon Varapongsittikul join the Spartans as freshmen this year.
• Seyrek enters play Saturday ranked 11th in the Carolina Regional in singles.
• Seyrek, a native of Istanbul, Turkey, went 28-6 in singles last season, setting a school record for single-season wins.
• In the fall tournament portion of this season's schedule, Seyrek and Reece had eight singles wins each to lead the team, Seyrek going 8-2 and Reece 8-4. Sarioglu went 7-4, while Litus was 6-3. In doubles action in the fall, Litus and Wright were an impressive 5-1. Reece was 6-0 in doubles, going 3-0 with both Meijs and Roueche.
• Seyrek and Virapongsittikul earned flight titles at the UNCG Men's Tennis Fall Invitational, while Reece took a singles title and Litus and Wright won a doubles title at the UTC Baras Collegiate Fall Classic. Reece and Roueche won a doubles flight title at the Elon Men's Tennis Fall Invitational.
• Winthrop was the preseason pick to win the Big South Conference. The Eagles return five of their top six players from last year's championship team, which fell to eventual NCAA runner-up Tennessee 4-0 in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
• Nadav Ruppin and Dejon Bivens were Big South singles champions at Nos. 2 and 4, respectively, while Ruppin and Guy Kubi were doubles champions at No. 2. Sergey Belov and Ruppin earned All-Big South honors in singles, while Belov, Ruppin, Kubi and Daniel Daudt took the honor in doubles. Only Daudt does not return this season.
• Winthrop has already competed twice in the spring, opening with a 6-1 loss to No. 75 William & Mary on Jan. 13 before rebounding with a 6-0 win over Hampton two days later.
• Bivens picked up the Eagles' lone win against the Tribe, grabbing a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 2 singles. Bivens moved up to No. 1 against Hampton, taking a 6-3, 7-5 win.
• Bivens picked up a singles flight title at the Georgia Tech Fall Invitational this season.
- UNCG -
