April 11, 2011

For UNCG coach Thomas Mozur's post-match comments, click here.

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Senior Yaroslav Litus celebrated Senior Day with wins in singles and doubles as UNCG closed the Southern Conference regular season with a 6-1 win over Furman on Monday.

With UNCG (15-5, 8-2 SoCon) having won at No. 3 doubles and Furman (6-16, 4-4 SoCon) having won at No. 1, the doubles point came down to No. 2.

Litus and Jacob Wright battled back from a 3-0 deficit to force a tiebreaker in the match, cruising past Alex Christ and Joel Cook 7-1 in the tiebreaker to claim a 9-8 win and the doubles point for the Spartans.

Sawyer Duncan and Andrew Mellow dropped Orcun Seyrek and Timion Meijs at No. 1, 8-5. Ahmet Sarioglu and Chanon Varapongsittikul topped Marco Aru and Andrei Chvetsov at No. 3, 8-3.

Litus carried the momentum from doubles over into singles play, as he breezed to a quick 6-1, 6-1 win over Chvetsov at No. 3.

Sarioglu followed suit with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Christ at No. 4, and Varapongsittikul clinched the match with his 6-4, 6-3 win over Cook at No. 5.

The pace of the match slowed considerably after that, as Seyrek wrapped up his 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 win over Duncan at No. 1 while Nos. 2 and 6 were just beginning their second sets.

Meijs gutted out a 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (12-10) win over Mellow at No. 2, while Wright, who had already played a tiebreaker in doubles, faced two more in his No. 6 match. He picked up the first set 7-6 after a 7-4 win in the tiebreaker, but saw Robbie Aru grab the second set 6-4 to force the super tiebreaker. Like Meijs and Mellow at No. 2, Wright and Aru played past the conventional 10 points, with Aru claiming the 12-10 win in the super for Furman's lone point of the day.

With the win, UNCG moves a half-game back of idle College of Charleston and Elon, who are both 8-1 in league play. Should they both lose their matches Thursday, the Spartans would claim a share of the regular-season league title.

As it stands, UNCG will finish no worse than a tie for third in the league, guaranteeing at least a top-four seed in the upcoming SoCon tournament, which will take place at the Champion's Club in Chattanooga, Tenn., from April 20-23.

Prior to the match, UNCG honored seniors Litus and Andrew Clark, as well as underclassmen Meijs and Wright, who will forgo their final seasons of eligibility. Meijs, a sophomore, has been accepted into medical school in his native The Netherlands, while Wright, a junior, will focus on his major, vocal performance.

AGATE
UNCG 6, Furman 1

Singles competition
1. Orcun Seyrek (UNCG) def. Sawyer Duncan (FUR) 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
2. Timion Meijs (UNCG) def. Andrew Mellow (FUR) 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (12-10)
3. Yaroslav Litus (UNCG) def. Andrei Chvetsov (FUR) 6-1, 6-1
4. Ahmet Sarioglu (UNCG) def. Alex Christ (FUR) 6-3, 6-1
5. Ch. Varapongsittikul (UNCG) def. Joel Cook (FUR) 6-4, 6-3
6. Robbie Aru (FUR) def. Jacob Wright (UNCG) 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 1-0 (12-10)

Doubles competition
1. Sawyer Duncan/Andrew Mellow (FUR) def. Orcun Seyrek/Timion Meijs (UNCG) 8-5
2. Yaroslav Litus/Jacob Wright (UNCG) def. Alex Christ/Joel Cook (FUR) 9-8 (7-1)
3. Ahmet Sarioglu/Ch. Varapongsittikul (UNCG) def. Marco Aru/Andrei Chvetsov (FUR) 8-3

Match Notes:
Furman 6-16, 4-4 SoCon
UNCG 15-5, 8-2 SoCon
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (3,4,5,1,2,6)

- UNCG -