March 22, 2007

GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNC Greensboro and East Carolina split six singles matches but the Spartans took two of three doubles pro-sets - both in tiebreakers - to hand the Pirates a 4-3 non-conference setback Thursday afternoon at the UNCG Tennis Courts.

East Carolina, which had its two-match winning streak snapped with the loss, falls to 6-9 on the year while the Spartans improved their dual match record to 5-9.

After Sam McSpadden and Bryan Oakley teamed up for an 8-6 victory over William Adeimy and Jason Steinhorn in a No. 3 doubles match, UNCG recorded consecutive 9-8 (7-4) triumphs in the No. 1 and No. 2 flights to earn the initial point and get the Spartans off to a 1-0 advantage.

All six singles matches were decided in straight sets, with each team winning three. Stephen Whitwell cruised past Ian Conchar (6-2, 6-0) at the No. 3 slot, Oakley defeated Steinhorn (6-4, 6-3) at No. 4 and McSpadden got past William John (7-6, 6-0) at No. 6 to register victories for the Pirates. The Spartans used wins from Andrey Bubnov (6-1, 6-1 over Aleksey Kochetov), Martin Redelinghuys (6-3, 6-3 over Matt Peeler) and Adeimy (6-4, 6-1 over Brian Walters) at the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 5 positions, respectively.

The Pirates will return home to face another Southern Conference member, the College of Charleston, Sunday at the ECU Tennis Complex beginning at 12 noon.

UNC GREENSBORO 4, EAST CAROLINA 3
Singles Play
No. 1 - Andrey Bubnov (UNCG) def. Aleksey Kochetov (ECU); 6-1, 6-1
No. 2 - Martin Redelinghuys (UNCG) def. Matt Peeler (ECU); 6-3, 6-3
No. 3 - Stephen Whitwell (ECU) def. Ian Conchar (UNCG); 6-2, 6-0
No. 4 - Bryan Oakley (ECU) def. Jason Steinhorn (UNCG); 6-4, 6-3
No. 5 - William Adeimy (UNCG) def. Brian Walters (ECU); 6-4, 6-1
No. 6 - Sam McSpadden (ECU) def. William John (UNCG); 7-6 (7-4), 6-0
Doubles Play
No. 1 - Conchar/Redelinghuys (UNCG) def. Kochetov/Whitwell (ECU); 9-8 (7-4)
No. 2 - Bubnov/John (UNCG) def. Peeler/Walters (ECU); 9-8 (7-4)
No. 3 - McSpadden/Oakley (ECU) def. Adeimy/Steinhorn (UNCG); 8-6
Team Records: East Carolina 6-9, UNC Greensboro 5-9