Pirate Men's Tennis Stuns Coastal Carolina 6-1

March 15, 2007

CONWAY, S.C. - The East Carolina men's tennis team dropped just one singles match on the way to an impressive 6-1 non-conference win over Coastal Carolina Thursday afternoon at the Billy Nichols Tennis Center.

The victory gave the Pirates their first two-match win streak since the opening week of the 2007 season and improved their overall record to 6-8. The Chanticleers, who had opened the spring campaign with wins in 13 of their first 15 matches, dropped to 13-3.

In singles action, top-seeded sophomore Aleksey Kochetov opened play with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Plamen Tzvetkov while freshman Matt Peeler, who filled in for an injured Henrique Viana, followed with a grueling 7-6 (5), 2-6, 1-0 (6) decision against Simon Taylor at the No. 2 position.

Freshman Stephen Whitwell notched his team-leading eighth win of the season by rolling past Richard Redding 6-0, 6-3 at No. 3, freshman Bryan Oakley overcame a tough start to post a 7-6 (1), 6-1 victory over Andy Caress at No. 4 and fellow rookie Sam McSpadden handed Joseph Withers a 6-4, 6-3 setback at the No. 6 slot.

Coastal Carolina posted its only win of the match when Elliott Quibell defeated ECU sophomore Brian Walters 6-0, 6-2 in a No. 5 meeting.

East Carolina enjoyed a strong start, taking two of three doubles matches to garner the opening point. An 8-5 victory by McSpadden and Oakley at the No. 3 position over CCU's Quibell and Withers followed an 8-3 win by the ECU tandem of Kochetov/Whitwell over Redding/Tzvetkov at No. 1 to secure the tally.

"To win a road match against a quality opponent such as Coastal Carolina without our No. 2 player serves as quite a testament to the strength and depth of our freshmen class," head coach Shawn Heinchon said. "They continue to develop and gain confidence, and again, gave our program a lift today when we really needed it."

The Pirates will return to action next Thursday when they travel to the Triad for a 2:00 p.m. match against UNC Greensboro.

EAST CAROLINA 6, COASTAL CAROLINA 1
Singles Play
No. 1 - Aleksey Kochetov (ECU) def. Plamen Tzvetkov (CCU); 6-3, 6-2
No. 2 - Matt Peeler (ECU) def. Simon Taylor (CCU); 7-6 (5), 2-6, 1-0 (6)
No. 3 - Stephen Whitwell (ECU) def. Richard Redding (CCU); 6-0, 6-3
No. 4 - Bryan Oakley (ECU) def. Andy Caress (CCU); 7-6 (1), 6-1
No. 5 - Elliott Quibell (CCU) def. Brian Walters (ECU); 6-0, 6-2
No. 6 - Sam McSpadden (ECU) def. Joseph Withers (CCU); 6-4, 6-3
Doubles Play
No. 1 - Kochetov/Whitwell (ECU) def. Redding/Tzvetkov (CCU); 8-3
No. 2 - Caress/Taylor (CCU) def. Peeler/Walters (ECU); 8-5
No. 3 - McSpadden/Oakley (ECU) def. Quibell/Withers (CCU); 8-5
Team Records: East Carolina 6-8, Coastal Carolina 13-3

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