UNCG 4, Winthrop 3
GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNCG freshman Chanon Varapongsittikul won a three-set epic at No. 5 singles as the Spartans rallied past defending Big South champion Winthrop in their dual opener at the Starmount Forest Country Club Indoor Courts on Saturday, 4-3.
With UNCG trailing 3-2 in singles play, freshman Ahmet Sarioglu picked up a 6-4, 6-4 win over Nestor Vargas at No. 6 singles to knot the match at 3. All eyes then turned to the Court 4, where Varapongsittikul and Winthrop's Guy Kubi were locked in a tight duel.
Varapongsittikul picked up the first set 7-6, winning the tiebreaker 7-4. After Kubi took the second set 7-5, Varapongsittikul raced out to a 4-1 lead and hung on for the 6-4 win in the decisive third set to bring the 5 1/2 hour marathon match to an end.
"Wow, I'm stressed out," UNCG coach Thomas Mozur said. "But we got a good win. It came down to a couple of freshman players, first time out, and we had 3-all and a freshman to win the match, and he came through under extreme pressure. That's a good start. Winthrop's a very good team. They won the Big South last year. I knew it was going to be a battle. They're talented. I feel good where we're at, and it's always nice to get that first victory of the year. It helps a lot."
The Spartans (1-0) picked up the doubles point on the strength of wins at Nos. 1 and 2. At No. 1, Orcun Seyrek and Sarioglu downed Sergey Belov and Yuta Hirokawa, 8-6. After Nadav Ruppin and Dejon Bivens topped Jacob Wright and Yaroslav Litus at No. 3, 8-6, UNCG got an 8-5 win from Timion Meijs and Varapongsittikul over Kubi and Liran Levy at No. 2 to secure the doubles point.
Litus made it a 2-0 UNCG advantage with a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 4 singles, but the Eagles (1-2) took the next three singles matches to charge into the lead.
Levy downed Wright at No. 3, 6-3, 6-2. Belov followed suit at No. 1, edging Seyrek 7-6 (9-7), 7-5. Seyrek entered the match ranked No. 11 in the Carolina Regional by the ITA.
Bivens picked up a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win over Meijs at No. 2, giving Winthrop a 3-2 lead and putting the pressure on the pair of freshmen at the bottom of the UNCG order.
Varaponsittikul and Sarioglu delivered as the defending SoCon champion Spartans opened their season with a win for the third straight year.
Florida Atlantic 4, Furman 0
Nebraska 6, Furman 1
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Furman men's team dropped a 4-0 decision to Florida Atlantic Saturday morning then fell 6-1 to #42 Nebraska Saturday afternoon at the Seminole Quad in Tallahassee, Fla.
The morning match versus the Owls was played tournament style, with singles competition occurring first and no other matches being played out after the clinching match was finished. Florida Atlantic swept the first four singles matches to clinch the team victory. At number six singles, Paladin sophomore Tyler Droll won the first set of his match versus Oliver Webb 6-4, but Webb won the second set 6-4 to force a tie-breaking third set. Webb led the set 2-1 when play was suspended.
In the afternoon match, the Cornhuskers jumped out to an early lead by sweeping the doubles matches to earn the doubles point. Furman senior Sawyer Duncan posted a 7-5, 6-3 win over Christopher Aumuelle at number one singles, but Nebraska swept the remaining singles matches for the team victory.
The Paladins (0-3) will face #27 Florida State Sunday at noon.
Middle Tennessee 7, Chattanooga 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team dropped a 7-0 match at MTSU today. The Mocs were back on the court just 12 hours after their season-opening loss at Lipscomb that ended after midnight on Friday.
The Blue Raiders swept the doubles matches, with the only challenge coming at No. 1. UTC's top duo of freshman Trent Cobb and sophomore Jason Tresnan pushed the MTSU team of Ben Davis and Shaun Waters before falling 8-5.
The Mocs lost in straight sets in six of the seven singles matches. Cobb, also playing No.1 singles, went three sets with Waters before falling (6-4, 2-6, 6-3).
Chattanooga is 0-2 on the year with the loss. The Mocs host Austin Peay for their home-opener on Friday, Jan. 28. Action begins at 5:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) at the Hixson Racquet Club. Live scoring for the match will be available on GoMocs.com.
Clemson 4, Davidson 3
CLEMSON, S.C. - In a match that came down to the last two singles matches of the day, the Davidson men's tennis team just missed out on upsetting No. 53 Clemson as the Tigers' Wesley Moran clinched the match with a three-set win at No. 5 singles and the Wildcats fell 4-3 on Saturday afternoon at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center.
Playing its second ranked opponent of the year in just its third match, Davidson (0-3) had a chance to clinch the match. The Wildcats got their third point from Kevin Moore, who tallied a three-set winner (6-3, 3-6, 6-4) over Dominique Maden at No. 6.
Calum Gee tried to seal up the win for the 'Cats, forcing a third set when he captured a second-set tie-breaker after falling in the first set, 6-2. The match went back-and-forth until Moran pulled away with a 7-5 win in the final set allowing Clemson to remain unbeaten at 4-0.
The Tigers started off the match with a clean sweep in doubles action as they calmed 8-3, 8-4 and 9-7 wins at all three positions.
Joe Schafer and Walker Lyons got the Wildcats on the board with their first two points after strong wins at No. 1 and 4 singles. Schafer picked up his second win of the season, earning a three-set (6-3, 4-6, 6-2) triumph over Derek DiFazio.
Lyons scored his first win of the season, and 30th of his career, when he took a 7-6, 6-1 decision over Cal Hilsman.
Davidson and Clemson were playing for the ninth time in the all-time series, with the Tigers picking up their fourth win in the series, which dates back to 1923.
Davidson returns home for it's home-opener on Saturday, Feb. 5 in a doubleheader when it host No. 69 USC-Upstate at 10 a.m. and then Gardner-Webb at 2 p.m.