March 21, 2010
Final Stats
GREENVILLE, N.C.- The Coastal Carolina University men's tennis team rallied after losing the doubles point to defeat East Carolina for the first time since 1999, 4-3 on Sunday, March 21. The Chanticleers improved to 12-4 on the season, while the Pirates fell to 11-5 this season.
"I am really proud of our fight today against a very strong team," Head Coach Chris Powers said. "We had a couple good practices before this match, and I think the preparation carried us to the win. Although we lost the doubles point today, we rallied in singles to pull out the win."
The Chanticleers were swept by the Pirates in doubles. The Chanticleers closest match was at No. 2, as the pair of junior Matt Gordon and senior Dmitry Vlaskin fought Henrik Skalmerud and Jaroslav Horvath but fell in the tie-breaker 9-8.
The Chants went down 2-0 after Vlaskin fell to Stephen Whitwell 7-5, 6-3 in No. 2 position. Junior Dorian Sovic jump-started the Chanticleers rally by defeating Bryan Oakley in No. 5 singles 6-3, 6-2, sparking the Chants to take the next three matches and clinch the team victory. Senior Plamen Tzvetkov overcame John Schmitt after losing the first set, winning 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in No. 6 position, while Gordon topped Horvath 6-3, 7-5 in the No. 1 spot. Alex Funkhouser lost in the first set 3-6 to Skalmerud, but rallied to win the next two 7-5, 6-3, giving the Chants the final point for the win.
Coastal will return home to take on in-state rival South Carolina State on Tuesday, March 30 at 2:30 p.m. at the Billy Nichols Tennis Courts.
