Spartans host Campbell, Navy this weekend in men's tennis action
UNCG (3-1) vs. Campbell (3-1), Feb. 18, 2 p.m., UNCG Tennis Courts
UNCG vs. Navy (7-1), Feb. 19, 4 p.m., Starmount Forest CC Indoor Courts
Storylines
• UNCG's men's tennis team will put its 15-match home winning streak on the line when it hosts a pair of matches this weekend, taking on Campbell at the UNCG Tennis Courts on Friday and Navy at the Starmount Forest Country Club Indoor Courts on Saturday.
• The Spartans' match against Campbell will be their first of the season at the UNCG Tennis Courts. UNCG first home match of the season was against Winthrop at the Starmount Forest CC Indoor Courts on Jan. 23.
• UNCG dropped its first match of the season in its last contest, falling 4-3 at Old Dominion on Feb. 11. The teams split the singles matches, but the Monarchs took the doubles point. Timion Meijs, Chanon Varapongsittikul and Ahmet Sarioglu earned singles wins on the evening.
• UNCG has gotten impressive performances at the bottom of the lineup this season, as the Spartans have yet to drop a match at Nos. 5 and 6 singles. In addition, the Spartans are 3-1 at No. 4.
• Three freshmen are off to outstanding starts for UNCG in singles play. True freshmen Varapongsittikul and Sarioglu are both 4-0. Varapongsittikul is 2-0 at both No. 4 and No. 5, while Sarioglu is 2-0 at Nos. 5 and 6. In addition, redshirt freshman Zach Reece is 2-0 on the young season, with both wins coming at No. 6.
• Reece and another freshman, Jimmy Roueche, went 3-0 as a doubles team in the fall tournament portion of the schedule, while Reece and sophomore Meijs were 3-0.
• Overall this season, UNCG has four student-athletes with 10 wins already. Varapongsittikul and Sarioglu are both 11-4, while Reece and Orcun Seyrek, UNCG's No. 1 singles player, are 10-4.
• Dating back to the 2008-09 season, UNCG has won 15 straight matches at home, including 11 straight at the UNCG Tennis Courts. The Spartans, who won their home-opener at Starmount Forest earlier this season, were 11-0 at home last season, including an 8-0 mark at the UNCG Tennis Courts. UNCG won its final three home matches of the 2008-09 campaign to begin the streak.
• Campbell brings a 3-1 mark into Friday's contest. The Camels opened the season with 5-0 wins over Howard and Georgetown at the VCU Invitational on Jan. 28 before dropping their first match of the season, 6-1 at UNC Wilmington on Feb. 12. Campbell got back in the win column with a 5-2 home victory over Liberty on Monday.
• Campbell senior Davy Sum has been named the Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week twice already this season. Sum, a three-time All-Atlantic Sun selection, is 4-0 at No. 1 singles this season and has yet to drop a set.
• Only one Campbell player other than Sum has a winning record in singles play this spring. Dominik Kaniewski is 2-1 at No. 4 this season.
• The Camels were picked fifth in the Preseason A-Sun Coaches Poll.
• Navy is 7-1 on the season, winning its first five before dropping a match to No. 20 North Carolina on Feb. 8. The Midshipmen have won their last two and have played all but the UNC match at home.
• Navy has yet to be in a close match. The Mids have won all seven of their matches by scores of 7-0 or 6-1 and lost to North Carolina 7-0. Last time out, Navy topped Drexel 6-1 and Mount St. Mary's 7-0 on Sunday.
• Navy's Owen Bullard is 7-1 at No. 1 singles this season, while Zach Nicholson is 6-1, playing all but one match at No. 3.
• Bullard, a Concord, N.C., native, and Nick Birger are 5-2 at No. 1 doubles, while Chris Kenney and Heyward Drayton are 4-0 at No. 3. Navy has not lost a match at No. 2 doubles this season, with three different combinations going 8-0. Of that lot, Nicholson and Nicholas Gutsche are 4-0.
• The Mids have won four straight Patriot League titles and fell to No. 1 Virginia in the first round of last season's NCAA tournament.
• UNCG and Navy each fell to eventual national semifinalists in the NCAA tournament last season. The Spartans dropped their first-round match against Georgia, which went on to lose to Tennessee in the NCAA semis, while the Mids fell to Virginia, which lost to eventual national champion Southern Cal on the other side of the bracket.
• UNCG took a 6-1 road win over Navy on Feb. 13 of last season.
- UNCG -