March 15, 2006

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The East Carolina men's tennis squad swept six singles matches, including one by default, and earned the doubles point to record a convincing 7-0 non-conference victory against Jacksonville Wednesday afternoon at the Keith Watson Family Tennis Complex.

The win was the second straight and third in the last four outings for the Pirates (7-8). The Dolphins remain winless on the season after suffering their 11th consecutive setback.

ECU's top-seeded singles player, freshman Aleksey Kochetov, set the tone by cruising to a 6-4, 6-2 win over Jacksonville's Marcus Oliveira. After sophomore Henrique Viana rallied back for a 6-1, 4-6, 1-0 (2) triumph over Clay Garrett at the No. 2 position, the Pirates closed out the match by recording three dominant straight-set victories and a default decision to seal their first road win since Jan. 21.

In additon to sophomore Ricardo Barone's 6-0, 6-1 sweep over Cory Garrett at No. 3, senior Nick Rose and freshman Britton Steele posted victories over JU's Tim Newman and Matt Kampfe by 6-1, 6-0 and 6-0, 6-0 scores, respectively.

East Carolina used two consecutive wins by tandems Barone/Viana (8-4) and Mike Catalano/Brian Walters (8-2) to clinch the doubles point and an early 1-0 lead prior to singles play.

The Pirates will conclude their brief two-match road swing in the Sunshine State when they face North Florida Thursday afternoon.

EAST CAROLINA 7, JACKSONVILLE 0
Singles Play
No. 1 - Aleksey Kochetov (ECU) def. Marcus Oliveira (JU); 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 - Henrique Viana (ECU) def. Clay Garrett (JU); 6-1, 4-6, 1-0 (2)
No. 3 - Ricardo Barone (ECU) def. Cory Garrett (JU); 6-0, 6-1
No. 4 - Nick Rose (ECU) def. Tim Newman (JU); 6-1, 6-0
No. 5 - Britton Steele (ECU) def. Matt Kampfe (JU); 6-0, 6-0
No. 6 - Mike Catalano (ECU) def. Tyler Thomas (JU); default
Doubles Play
No. 1 - Barone/Viana (ECU) def. Cl. Garrett/Oliveira (JU); 8-4
No. 2 - Catalano/Brian Walters (ECU) def. Co. Garrett/Newman (JU); 8-2
No. 3 - Rose/Steele (ECU) def. Kampfe/Thomas (JU); default
Team Records: East Carolina (7-8), Jacksonville (0-11)