Feb. 20, 2010

DAVIDSON, N.C. - The East Carolina men's tennis team tallied the doubles point and later secured a 4-3 non-conference triumph over Davidson with strong play by Jaroslav Horvath, Bryan Oakley and Stephen Whitwell Saturday afternoon at the Knobloch Tennis Center.

East Carolina recorded 9-7 triumphs in the No. 2 and No. 3 flights to earn the initial point in doubles play and get the Pirates off to a 1-0 advantage. In the No. 1 position Eric Noble and Joe Schafer teamed up for an 8-3 victory over Henrik Skalmerud and Stian Tvedt.

Four of the six singles matches were decided in straight sets, with each team winning two. Horvath cruised past Schafer (6-3, 6-4) at the No. 1 slot, Whitwell defeated Nobel in three sets (6-4, 4-6, 7-6) at No. 2 and Oakley handled Sam Burns (6-2, 6-2) at No. 6 to register victories for the Pirates.

The Wildcats tallied three consecutive singles wins from Walker Lyons (6-3, 6-4 over Skalmerud), Chris Mark (6-1, 6-2 over John Schmitt) and Calum Gee (0-6, 6-1, 6-4 over Massimo Mannino) at the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 positions, respectively.

The Pirates, who extended their consecutive match win streak to five straight, improved to 8-1 on the year while the Wildcats dropped to 4-3. 

East Carolina will return to take on Mount Olive Thursday at the ECU Tennis Complex beginning at 2:30 p.m.

EAST CAROLINA 4, DAVIDSON 3
Singles Play
No.1 - Jaroslav Horvath (ECU) def. Joe Schafer(DAV); 6-3,6-4
No.2 - Stephen Whitwell (ECU) def. Eric Noble(DAV); 6-4,4-6,7-6 (5)
No.3 - Walker Lyons (DAV) def. Henrik Skalmerud (ECU); 6-3,6-4
No.4 - Chris Mark (DAV) def. John Schmitt (ECU); 6-1,6-2
No.5 - Calum Gee (DAV) def. Massimo Mannino (ECU); 0-6,6-1,6-4
No.6 - Bryan Oakley (ECU) def. Sam Burns (DAV); 6-2,6-2
Doubles Play
No.1 - Noble/Schafer (DAV) def. Skalmerud/Stian Tvedt (ECU); 8-3
No.2 - Oakley/Whitwell (ECU) def. Gee/Lyons (DAV); 9-7
No.3 - Horvath/Schmitt (ECU) def. Burns/Mark (DAV); 9-7
Team Record: East Carolina 8-1, Davidson 4-3