March 19, 2010

GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina secured the doubles point with a sweep and four straight-set singles wins to secure a 5-2 men's tennis non-conference victory over Longwood Friday afternoon at the ECU Tennis Complex.

East Carolina had the upper hand after a doubles sweep. Jaroslav Horvath and Henrik Skalmerud led off with an 8-4 triumph over Marc Ferrigno and Billy Heird at the No.1 position, the Pirates followed with triumphs at No. 2 and No. 3 to clinch the point. Tandems Massimo Mannino and Bryan Oakley defeated David Cardoso and Nobu Tanaka 8-6 before  Stian Tvedt and Stephen Whitwell posted an identical victory over Milo Barajas-Alexander and Adham Halabi.

The Pirates continued their strong play in the singles competition, winning four of six matches. Horvath handled Nobu Tanaka (6-1, 6-1) at No.1 to capture the win followed by Whitwell over Ferrigno (6-1, 6-3) at No.2, Mannino over Bruno Orlandini (6-4, 6-2) at No. 3 and Oakley over Cardoso (6-3, 7-6) at No.5.

Longwood captured victories at the No. 4 and No.6 slots to prevent a sweep as Heird rolled past Skalmerud 6-2 6-4 and Halabi outlasted John Schmitt 6-3 7-6.

ECU will return to action Sunday at noon when it hosts Coastal Carolina.

EAST CAROLINA 5, LONGWOOD 2
Singles Play
No. 1 - Jaroslav Horvath (ECU) def. Nobu Tanaka (LW); 6-1, 6-1
No. 2 - Stephen Whitwell (ECU) def. Marc Ferrigno (LW); 6-1, 6-3
No. 3 - Massimo Mannino (ECU) def. Bruno Orlandini (LW); 6-4, 6-2
No. 4 - Billy Heird (LW) def. Henrik Skalmerud (ECU); 6-2, 6-4
No. 5 - Bryan Oakley (ECU) def. David Cardoso (LW); 6-3, 7-6
No. 6 - Adham Halabi (LW) def. John Schmitt (ECU); 6-3, 7-6
Doubles Play
No. 1 - Horvath/ Skalmerud (ECU) def. Ferrigno/Heird (LW); 8-4
No. 2 - Mannino/Oakley (ECU) def. Cardoso/Tanaka (LW); 8-6
No. 3 - Stian Tvedt/Whitwell(ECU) def. Milo Barajas-Alexander/Halabi (LW); 8-6
Team Records: Longwood 5-5, East Carolina 12-3