East Carolina University
Richmond
ECU Men's Tennis Routs Richmond, 6-1
February 28, 2009 | Men's Tennis
Feb. 28, 2009
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The East Carolina men's tennis team captured its fourth-straight victory and pushed its early spring season record to 8-1 by posting five singles wins and a doubles sweep on the way to a 6-1 non-conference triumph over Richmond Saturday morning at the UNC Indoor Tennis Center.
The match, originally scheduled to be played in Greenville, was moved to the University of North Carolina campus because of inclement outdoor weather conditions.
In singles action, top-seeded Stephen Whitwell opened play with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Sami Belakhlef to improve his dual match slate to 8-1, while Jaroslav Horvath followed with a 6-3, 6-0 decision against William Minter at the No. 2 position.
David Masciorini tallied the Pirates' third singles tally by putting together a 6-3, 6-4 win over Sam Hyland at No. 6 before Henrik Skalmerud and Aleksey Kochetov added 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 and 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 victories against Matthew Feeley and A.J. Nelson at the No. 4 and No. 5 slots, respectively, to complete East Carolina's scoring efforts.
Richmond (1-11) earned its only win of the match when Rafael Arana outlasted ECU's Denis Ermilov 7-5, 6-7, 1-0 in a No. 3 meeting.
East Carolina enjoyed a strong start, sweeping doubles play to garner the opening point. An 8-0 victory by Kochetov and Skalmerud at the No. 2 position over Richmond's Arana and Dylan Schrode was followed by a 9-7 win by the tandem of Bryan Oakley and Whitwell over Feeley and Minter at No. 3 to secure the tally. In addition, Ermilov and Horvath outlasted Belakhlef and Hyland 8-7 in a No. 1 matchup.
The Pirates will be back in action Wednesday, traveling to Farmville, Va. to face Longwood in a 2:00 p.m. match.
EAST CAROLINA 6, RICHMOND 1
Singles Play
No. 1 - Stephen Whitwell (ECU) def. Sami Belakhlef (UR); 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 - Jaroslav Horvath (ECU) def. William Minter (UR); 6-3, 6-0
No. 3 - Rafael Arana (UR) def. Denis Ermilov (ECU); 7-5, 6-7 (2), 1-0 (7)
No. 4 - Henrik Skalmerud (ECU) def. Matthew Feeley (UR); 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
No. 5 - Aleksey Kochetov (ECU) def. A.J. Nelson (UR); 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (6)
No. 6 - David Masciorini (ECU) def. Sam Hyland (UR); 6-3, 6-4
Doubles Play
No. 1 - Ermilov/Horvath (ECU) def. Belakhlef/Hyland (UR); 8-7 (1)
No. 2 - Kochetov/Skalmerud (ECU) def. Arana/Dylan Schrode (UR); 8-0
No. 3 - Oakley/Whitwell (ECU) def. Feeley/Minter (UR); 9-7
Team Records: Richmond 1-11, East Carolina 8-1
