Feb. 21, 2009

Box Score

GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina tallied four singles wins, three coming in straight-set fashion, and the doubles point to record a 5-2 non-conference men's tennis victory over Gardner-Webb Saturday afternoon at the ECU Tennis Complex.

The Pirates have opened the 2009 campaign with six wins in their first seven matches, while the Bulldogs dropped to 1-9.

East Carolina opened the match by sweeping doubles play to capture the first point. Bryan Oakley and Stephen Whitwell defeated Carlos Quijano and Andrew Veeder 8-1 at the No. 3 position before Aleksey Kochetov and Henrik Skalmerud clinched the tally after upending Ryan Bernthal and Jamie Lawlor 8-3 at No. 2. Denis Ermilov and Jaroslav Horvath handed Rafael Altmayer and Evgeny Slesarev an 8-5 loss at the No. 1 slot to close out the pairs action.

The Pirates wrapped up the triumph in singles play, winning four of six matchups. Oakley dispatched Bernthal (6-3, 6-0) at No. 6 and Kochetov handled Lawlor (6-2, 6-2) at No. 5 before Whitwell and Ermilov added 6-3, 6-2 and 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 victories over Veeder and Altmayer at the No. 2 and 3 slots, respectively.

The Bulldogs' two victories came at the No. 1 and No. 4 flights as Slesarev dismissed Horvath 6-2, 7-5 and Quijano rallied past Skalmerud 6-2, 4-6, 1-0.

East Carolina will continue its three-match homestand Friday when it welcomes Southern Conference member The Citadel to Greenville. First serve is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

EAST CAROLINA 5, GARDNER-WEBB 2
Singles Play
No. 1 - Evgeny Slesarev (GWU) def. Jaroslav Horvath (ECU); 6-2, 7-5
No. 2 - Stephen Whitwell (ECU) def. Andrew Veeder (GWU); 6-3, 6-2
No. 3 - Denis Ermilov (ECU) def. Rafael Altmayer (GWU); 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (7)
No. 4 - Carlos Quijano (GWU) def. Henrik Skalmerud (ECU); 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (6)
No. 5 - Aleksey Kochetov (ECU) def. Jamie Lawlor (GWU); 6-2, 6-2
No. 6 - Bryan Oakley (ECU) def. Ryan Bernthal (GWU); 6-3, 6-0
Doubles Play
No. 1 - Ermilov/Horvath (ECU) def. Altmayer/Slesarev (GWU); 8-5
No. 2 - Kochetov/Skalmerud (ECU) def. Bernthal/Lawlor (GWU); 8-3
No. 3 - Oakley/Whitwell (ECU) def. Quijano/Veeder (GWU); 8-1
Team Records: Gardner-Webb 1-9, East Carolina 6-1