Pirate Tennis Falls To Seahawks, 4-2

April 11, 2009

GREENVILLE, N.C. - UNC Wilmington took advantage of a doubles point and three singles wins, two coming in three-set fashion, to down East Carolina 4-2 Saturday afternoon in non-conference action at the ECU Tennis Complex.

The Pirates fell to 18-4 with the setback, while the Seahawks captured their seventh-straight victory and improved to 16-5.

UNC Wilmington's top-seeded doubles tandem, Gustavo Bertei and Ryan Ybarra, clinched the opening point by defeating Denis Ermilov and Jaroslav Horvath 8-6 after the Seahawks and Pirates had split the first two battles at the Nos. 2 and 3 positions. UNCW's Kinshuk Sharma and Illia Ziamtsou defeated Aleksey Kochetov and Henrik Skalmerud 8-5 after ECU's Bryan Oakley and Stephen Whitwell opened play with an 8-4 triumph over Michael Pereira and Alex Wetherell.

Oakley (6-2, 6-1 at No. 6) and Ybarra (6-3, 6-4 at No. 5) tallied singles wins for each squad before Pereira and Ziamtsou netted three-set decisions at No. 1 and No. 4 to secure the victory. Pereira bounced back from a second-set loss to dismiss Whitwell 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 before Ziamtsou overcame a slow start to rally past Ermilov 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.

East Carolina earned its only other singles win at the No. 3 slot as Skalmerud outlasted Sharma 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

The Pirates will complete their regular season schedule Saturday night when they host Barton College before turning their attention to the C-USA Men's Tennis Championships April 17-19 in Orlando, Fla.

UNC WILMINGTON 4, EAST CAROLINA 2
Singles Play
No. 1 - Michael Pereira (UNCW) def. Stephen Whitwell (ECU); 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
No. 2 - Jaroslav Horvath (ECU) vs. Gustavo Bertei (UNCW); 6-3, 5-4, unfinished
No. 3 - Henrik Skalmerud (ECU) def. Kinshuk Sharma (UNCW); 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
No. 4 - Illia Ziamtsou (UNCW) def. Denis Ermilov (ECU); 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
No. 5 - Ryan Ybarra (UNCW) def. Aleksey Kochetov (ECU); 6-3, 6-4
No. 6 - Bryan Oakley (ECU) def. Alex Wetherell (UNCW); 6-2, 6-1
Doubles Play
No. 1 - Bertei/Ybarra (UNCW) def. Ermilov/Horvath (ECU); 8-6
No. 2 - Sharma/Ziamtsou (UNCW) def. Kochetov/Skalmerud (ECU); 8-5
No. 3 - Oakley/Whitwell (ECU) def. Pereira/Wetherell (UNCW); 8-4
Team Records: UNC Wilmington 16-5, East Carolina 18-4

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