 |  |
Spartans return to UNCG Tennis Courts to host Charlotte on Friday
UNCG (2-3) vs. Charlotte (4-2), Feb. 17, 2 p.m., UNCG Tennis Courts
Storylines
- UNCG's men's tennis team returns home Friday for its first home outdoor match of the season when it hosts Charlotte at the UNCG Tennis Courts at 2 p.m.
- The Spartans have been nothing short of dominant at home over the last several seasons. Including matches at Starmount Forest Country Club and Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center, as well as outdoor matches at the UNCG Tennis Courts, UNCG is 25-1 in its last 26 home matches, dating back to the 2009 season. In matches at the UNCG Tennis Courts, the Spartans are 18-1 in that stretch. The lone loss came at the hands of Campbell nearly a year ago, on Feb. 18, 2011.
- The Spartans fell to No. 51 NC State on Sunday, 7-0 in Raleigh, N.C., to snap their two-match winning streak. UNCG opened the season with losses to Tennessee Tech and No. 46 Memphis and wins over Gardner-Webb and UNC Asheville.
- Senior Orcun Seyrek is ranked 11th 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.
- Sophomore Ahmet Sarioglu leads the team in singles wins with a 9-5 mark on the young season. Freshman Randy Phillips is second on the squad in wins and owns a 6-8 record. In doubles play, Sarioglu and Seyrek are 5-4 together with a 3-2 dual mark at No. 1, while Phillips and sophomore Chanon Varapongsittikul are 5-5 together.
- Charlotte is off to a 4-2 start this season, with the four dual wins coming over non-Division I schools in the fall. In dual action this spring, the 49ers are 0-2 with road losses at Wake Forest and NC State.
- Charlotte opened spring play with a 6-1 loss to the 41st-ranked Demon Deacons on Jan. 15, with Anthony Davison earning the 49ers' lone win at No. 4 singles. On Feb. 5, Charlotte's Paul Cisti and Davison picked up a win at No. 3 doubles, but that was all the 49ers could manage in a 7-0 loss to then-No. 58 NC State.
- Alex Calott is 9-6 in singles action to lead the 49ers, with a 3-2 dual mark. Cisti (8-9) and Nate Shanok (8-7) are second with eight wins each and are both 4-2 in dual play. Krzysztof Kwasniewicz is 5-5 overall and 3-0 in dual play.
- In doubles, Calott and Jack Williams are 4-5 overall and 1-1 in dual play. Calott and Hector Linares are 2-0 overall with a 2-0 mark at No. 3.
- UNCG and Charlotte both competed at the USTA/ITA Regional Championships in Chapel Hill, N.C., from Oct. 13-16. No one from either team faced each other.
- Friday's match is the first of three straight for Charlotte against Southern Conference teams. The 49ers host Wofford and Davidson next week.
- UNCG and Charlotte last met on March 17 of last season, with the Spartans taking a 5-2 win in Charlotte. UNCG took wins at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles to clinch the point, then got wins from Seyrek at No. 1 singles, Timion Meijs at No. 2, Varapongsittikul at No. 5 and Zach Reece at No. 6. Charlotte's wins came from Moritz Bernhoerster at No. 3 and Davison at No. 4.
- UNCG -
