February 11, 2012

UNCG faces tough road task at No. 51 NC State

UNCG (2-2) at No. 51 NC State (7-1), Feb. 12, 4 p.m., Raleigh, N.C.

LiveStats: UNCGSpartans.com (via GoPack.com)

Storylines

- After evening its record with a pair of home wins last weekend, UNCG's men's tennis team heads to Raleigh, N.C., this weekend to take on No. 51 NC State at the Wolfpack's J.W. Isenhour Tennis Complex.

- The Spartans topped Gardner-Webb and UNC Asheville at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center last weekend, dropping both by 5-2 scores.

- Against GWU on Feb. 4, UNCG won the doubles point and earned singles wins from Orcun Seyrek, Ahmet Sarioglu and Chanon Varapongsittikul at Nos. 1-3, respectively, and Cameron Smith at No. 5. The following day against UNCA, the Bulldogs claimed the doubles point but the Spartans won every singles match except at No. 3. Sarioglu clinched the match with an incredible comeback at No. 2, winning his final six games and surviving two match points for a 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 victory.

- The Wolfpack will be UNCG's second ranked opponent this season. The Spartans dropped a 6-1 decision at No. 46 Memphis on Jan. 29.

- Seyrek is ranked 11^th in singles in the Carolinas Region by the ITA. A three-time All-Southern Conference selection, Seyrek was 20-11 in singles last year, marking his third straight season with 20+ singles wins.

- Sarioglu leads the team in singles wins with a 9-4 mark on the young season. Freshman Randy Phillips is second on the squad in wins and owns a 6-7 record. In doubles play, Sarioglu and Seyrek are 5-3 together with a 3-1 dual mark at No. 1, while Phillips and Varapongsittikul are 5-4 together.

- NC State is hosting three matches this weekend. The Wolfpack will play No. 48 South Carolina on Saturday before taking on William & Mary and UNCG on Sunday.

- NCSU won its first four matches before dropping its lone contest of the season to No. 7 Kentucky on Jan. 27. The team rattled off three straight wins after that, including a 4-3 win over No. 45 Cornell.

- The Wolfpack roster features the 100^th-ranked singles player in the nation in Austin Powell.

- Entering this weekend, NCSU's Jaime Pulgar is 6-1 at No. 1 in dual singles play, Robbie Mudge is 6-0 at Nos. 2-4 and Powell is 5-0 with matches at Nos. 2, 4 and 5. Powell is 13-4 overall including fall play, while Mudge is 12-5. Pulgar did not play in the fall, as he was playing on the ITF Futures Tour.

- In dual doubles play, Mudge and Pulgar are 3-0 together while the team is 17-6 overall.

- Pulgar is a two-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection and was the ACC Co-Player of the Week after the first week of the spring season.

- The last time UNCG and NC State met was on Feb. 22, 2009, when the then-No. 34 Wolfpack won 7-0 in Raleigh.

- UNCG -