March 22, 2011

UNCG (10-3) vs. East Carolina (10-4), March 23, 2 p.m., UNCG Tennis Courts

Storylines

• After a season-high four-match road swing, UNCG's men's tennis team returns home to host East Carolina at the UNCG Tennis Courts on Wednesday at 2 p.m.

• The Spartans have won six straight matches overall and three straight at home. ECU comes in having won two of its last three.

• Junior Orcun Seyrek was named the Southern Conference Player of the Week on Tuesday after going a combined 4-0 last week. Seyrek was 2-0 in both singles and doubles, all at No. 1. The award was the second of the season for Seyrek, who also took the honor on March 9.

• At 4-0 in SoCon play, the Spartans are atop the league standings. Last time out, UNCG best Davidson on Saturday, 5-2. After dropping the doubles point, the Spartans won five of the six singles matches. Seyrek, Timion Meijs, Yaroslav Litus, Ahmet Sarioglu and Chanon Varapongsittikul picked up singles wins from Nos. 1-5, respectively.

• UNCG has lost three straight to East Carolina, taking 4-3 losses to the Pirates in each of the last two years. The Spartans' last win over ECU came on March 22, 2007, a 4-3 victory at the UNCG Tennis Courts.

• The bottom of the Spartans' singles lineup has been dominant this season. UNCG is 11-2 at No. 6 on the season and 10-3 at No. 5.

• A pair of true freshmen lead UNCG in singles wins on the year. Sarioglu and Varapongsittikul are both 10-3 in dual play and 17-7 overall on the season. Zach Reece, a redshirt freshman, is 8-2 on the season in dual play and 16-6 overall on the year.

• Seyrek, UNCG's No. 1 singles player, is 8-5 in duals and 16-7 overall. Litus is 8-5 in duals and 14-8, while Meijs is 12-8 overall on the season and 8-5 in dual action.

• In doubles play, Litus and Jacob Wright are 11-6 overall as a doubles team and 6-5 in duals. Meijs and Seyrek sport a 4-2 mark together, while Sarioglu and Varapongsittikul are 5-3.

• ECU is 10-4 overall and 0-1 in Conference USA. The Pirates have already faced two SoCon teams this season, beating Appalachian State (4-3) and The Citadel (5-2) in consecutive matches in late February.

• The Pirates dropped a road match at South Carolina State on Monday, falling 5-2. After the teams of Jaroslav Horvath and Joran Vliegen and Henrik Skalmerud and Stian Tvedt took wins at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles, respectively, S.C. State grabbed five singles wins to take the victory. Vliegen picked up a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 3.

• Vliegen leads ECU in wins with a 15-3 record, including an 11-1 mark in dual play. The freshman from Maaselk, Belgium, is a perfect 7-0 at No. 4 and 4-1 at No. 3. Nearly impressive has been the play of John Schmitt, who is 12-5 overall and 10-2 in duals. Schmitt is 8-1 at No. 5.

• Horvath and Vliegen are 11-5 as a doubles team and 8-2 in dual play, all at No. 1. Skalmerud and Tvedt are 11-6 together, with a 7-5 mark in duals.

- UNCG -