Men's Tennis Opens Fall Season On Friday

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Coming off a record-setting season, the ECU men's tennis team will be looking to continue the momentum as the Pirates embark on the 2018 fall schedule.

ECU finished the spring season with a program-record 22 wins against just five losses. The Pirates season came to an end in the AAC quarterfinals, falling to Tulane 4-1. ECU returns six players from last year and adds a pair of newcomers to round out the roster.

The Pirates will play in four tournaments during the fall season. ECU opens the season at the USC Fall Tournament, which runs from Sept. 21 to Sept. 23. ECU will also travel to the Richmond Fall Invite in Richmond, Va., the ITA Carolina Regionals in Cary, N.C., and the UNCW Fall Hidden Duals in Wilmington, N.C.

"We are looking forward to going to USC this weekend," said head coach Shawn Heinchon. "The first road trip of the year always has a little more excitement to it. This is a tournament that we are playing for the first time and should be great opportunity for us to play some very high level of competition in the fall season. It will be a good test for our guys, but I know that they are all dying to get on the road and play."

Leading the returners is senior Vlad Anghel, who played the majority of his matches on court one last season. Anghel finished the season with a 19-16 record overall and a 14-10 record in dual matches. Joining Anghel for their final season as Pirates are fellow seniors Will Bissett and Ronny Georgi. Georgi had a 20-7 singles record last season, including a team best 11-3 on court three. Bissett finished the season 13-5 and went 8-2 in dual matches.

Rounding out the returners are redshirt junior Austin Allen, junior Javier Renones and sophomore Wisse Jonker. Renones led the team in singles wins, going 24-7 on the season last year. The Santander, Spain native went 18-2 in dual matches. Allen and Jonker were both tied for the fewest losses on the team last year, with Allen going 12-3 and Jonker 18-3. Jonker joined the team in the spring semester and played the majority of his matches on court five to finish 16-3 there.

Renones and Jonker led ECU in doubles wins last season, going 17-2 on the year. Anghel will need a new partner after he combined with recent graduate Freddie McGeehan to go 12-6 on court one last year for the Pirates. Georgi will also need a partner after he teamed with Kasey Countee to go 11-6 last season.

The Pirates will add two newcomers to the roster this fall. Hailing from Setubal, Portugal is Diogo Marques and joining from Quebec, Canada is Simon Labbe.

Heinchon will be in his 15th season in Greenville and is coming off leading ECU to a program record 22 victories. He will be assisted by Ian Van Cott for the second straight season.

The USC Fall Tournament kicks off on Friday, Sept. 21.

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Players Mentioned

Austin Allen

Vlad Anghel

Will Bissett

Kasey Countee

Ronny Georgi

Wisse Jonker

Simon Labbe

Diogo Marques

Freddie McGeehan

Javier Renones

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