April 11, 2009

Box Score

GREENVILLE, N.C. - The East Carolina men's tennis team completed a split of its doubleheader and closed out regular season play by blanking Barton College 4-0 Saturday night.

The Pirates, who fell to UNC Wilmington earlier in the day, will head into next week's Conference USA Championship Tournament with a program-best 19-4 record. Barton dropped to 7-9 with the setback.

ECU quickly claimed the doubles point with consecutive 8-1 victories before following with straight-set singles wins at the Nos. 1-3 slots to produce the final tally.

Stephen Whitwell ran past Cesar Grobel 6-4, 6-2 in a No. 1 matchup, while Jaroslav Horvath and Denis Ermilov added 6-2, 6-4 and 6-3, 6-2 triumphs over Matt Jackman and Chris Martel at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. The last three singles matches were discontinued once Ermilov captured the match-deciding fourth point.

The Pirates will now prepare for the league tourney, which begins Friday, April 17 in Orlando, Fla.

EAST CAROLINA 4, BARTON 0
Singles Play
No. 1 - Stephen Whitwell (ECU) def. Cesar Grobel (BC); 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 - Jaroslav Horvath (ECU) def. Matthew Jackman (BC); 6-2, 6-4
No. 3 - Denis Ermilov (ECU) def. Chris Martel (BC); 6-3, 6-2
No. 4 - Henrik Skalmerud (ECU) vs. Pier-Alexandre Desilets (BC); unfinished
No. 5 - David Masciorini (ECU) vs. Leandro Peron (BC); unfinished
No. 6 - Ryan Daly (ECU) vs. Eduardo Stefani (BC); unfinished
Doubles Play
No. 1 - Ermilov/Horvath (ECU) def. Grobel/Martel (BC); 8-1
No. 2 - Aleksey Kochetov/Skalmerud (ECU) def. Desilets/Peron (BC); 8-1
No. 3 - Bryan Oakley/Whitwell (ECU) def. Jackman/Stefani (BC); 8-1
Team Records: Barton 7-9, East Carolina 19-4