ETSU 4, Texas A&M Corpus Christi 2
LUBBOCK, Texas - Enduring windy conditions, two perennial powers squared off Saturday, with ETSU coming away with a hard-fought, 4-2 neutral-site victory versus Texas A&M - Corpus Christi in Lubbock, Texas.
ETSU has made eight consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, while Texas A&M - Corpus Christi has clinched NCAA Tournament berths in five of the last seven seasons.
Saturday, however, belonged to the Bucs (2-6).
"As expected, it was a tough battle in the winds," ETSU Head Coach Yaser Zaatini said. "The conditions were much different than what the Bucs have seen, but we persevered."
ETSU opened the match by convincingly earning the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles points to take an early 1-0 advantage.
Ismael Merino and Robert Herrera teamed up to defeat the Islanders' (3-2) Kevin Bettendroffer and Paul Cook, 6-1, at No. 2. Meanwhile, Conner Huertas del Pino paired with Sebastian Yllera to cruise to a 6-0 win at No. 3.
The Buccaneers extended their match lead to 3-0 after Herrera and Rogerio Ribeiro picked up straight-set wins at No. 6 and No. 2 Singles, respectively.
ETSU then withstood a Texas A&M - Corpus Christi rally, as the Islanders won the No. 3 and No. 1 Singles spots to cut the Bucs' advantage to 3-2.
After narrowly dropping the first set, 6-4, at No. 5 Singles, team captain Ismael Merino responded by winning back-to-back sets, 6-2, 6-3, to clinch the victory for ETSU.
"The Islanders played a tough match," Zaatini said. "We came out swinging, taking the doubles point, and then they [AMCC] woke up and started a comeback. We managed to close it out with Merino clinching. With an ankle strain, he showed courage and conviction and got us the win we so desperately needed."
ETSU will look to build on Saturday's win as the Bucs host Tennessee Tech Friday, Feb. 27 in their first home match of the season.
"A grueling road schedule filled with powerhouse teams wears you down, but for sure makes us stronger," Zaatini said.
Furman 5, UCF 2
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Furman won the doubles point and took four out of six singles matches to defeat No. 67 UCF, 5-2, Saturday at the UNF Tennis Complex in Jacksonville, Fla.
The Paladins won two of three doubles matches to clinch the opening point. Sophomore Adam Steryous and rookie Cameron Green teamed up to hand Reece Acree and Francesc Aulina a 6-4 loss at flight two, then senior Jacob Behal and freshman Stefan Rhodes combined for a 6-2 win over Mariano Porter and Jesse Flores at number three. The Knights picked up the win in the top-flighted match, as Chris Barrus and Inaki Espindola topped juniors Matt Browne and Ben Horst, 6-4.
In singles action, Brown posted a 6-3, 6-3 win over Espindola at flight two, then Behal downed Flores, 6-4, 6-2 at number five to extend the Furman lead to 3-0. Aulina put UCF on the board with a 6-2, 6-4 victory versus Steryous in the top-seeded contest, but sophomore Juan Sheppard clinched the team win for the Paladins with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Acree at number six. Green came from behind to push the margin to 5-1 with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Espindola at number three, and, in the final match of the day, Porter defeated Horst, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, at flight four.
Coastal Carolina 6, Wofford 1
CONWAY, S.C. – The Wofford College men’s tennis team lost their third match against a Big South foe in the 2015 season on Saturday afternoon, as the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina grabbed a 6-1 win over the visiting Terriers at Coastal Carolina Tennis Complex.
Sophomore Hairs Poric led the way for the Terriers, remaining undefeated in singles play while earning the lone singles point for Wofford. The reigning SoCon Player of the Week took down Coastal’s Kaue Pereira in straight sets, winning 7-5, 6-1.
The Aussie also found success in doubles play. He and senior Rob Galloway teamed up at the No. 1 position, rolling past Pereira and Philippe Tsangarides, 6-1.
“Our doubles matches were very close,” said 15th season head coach Rod Ray. “I don’t think that we played poorly today. We got outplayed, but I think we still played strong tennis. The end score may not reflect that, but we held our own. I’m disappointed we didn’t win, and today they were better than us. We will be ready for Tuesday.”
Doubles were close indeed. Outside of the Galloway/Poric duo, the remaining two doubles matches were each determined by less than two sets. At the No. 2 position, senior Walker Heffron and junior Parks Thompson were bested, 7-5, by Coastal’s Renan Samed and Garik Yedigarian. The Chanticleers sealed the doubles point at No. 3 when Vuk Velickovic and Rick Timmerman beat junior David Sklar and sophomore Trevor Gotkowski, 7-6.
In singles, it was all Coastal Carolina. Galloway played at No. 1 for Wofford taking Tsangarides three sets before eventually dropping the match, 6-3, 2-6, 10-8. Poric would claim the victory at the No. 2 spot.
The remaining Terriers were dispatched in straight sets. At No. 3, Heffron fell to Yedigarian, 6-3, 6-1. Gotkowski played at the No. 4 spot, where he was topped by Velickovic, 6-4, 6-0. At No. 5, Thompson went head-to-head with Jabor Al-Mutawa, facing a 6-3, 6-4 setback. Freshman Parks Schoen rounded out the singles play, dropping a 6-3, 6-4 decision to Timmerman at the No. 6 position.
Georgia State 5, Samford 1
ATLANTA, Ga. -- The Samford University men's tennis team dropped to 0-3 in road matches this season Saturday as the Bulldogs suffered a 5-1 loss to the Georgia State Panthers in a non-conference contest held at Piedmont Park.
Samford (0-4) came up short in the doubles point and fell behind early to Georgia State (3-5) by a count of 1-0. In singles play, the Bulldogs' Jake Faundez breezed past the Panthers' Felipe Jaworski, 6-4, 6-0, on court No. 6 to earn the team's lone point of the match.
With the win, Faundez improved to 2-1 in singles play this season.
Georgia State picked up its 5-1 team victory by tallying straight-set wins on courts No. 2-6.