Gameday: Pirates Embark On Three-Match Road Trip

Match 9: ECU (7-1) at Connecticut (5-4)
Date	Friday, Feb. 15
Time	1 p.m. (EST)
Location	East Hartford, Conn. (East Hartford Tennis Club)
Social Media	Twitter: @ecutennisM Instagram: @ecumenstennis Facebook: ECU Men's Tennis

Match 9: ECU (7-1) at Boston University (2-5)
Date	Saturday, Feb. 16
Time	12:30 p.m. (EST)
Location	Winchester, Mass.
Social Media	Twitter: @ecutennisM Instagram: @ecumenstennis Facebook: ECU Men's Tennis

Match 10: ECU (7-1) at Bryant (4-4)
Date	Sunday, Feb. 17
Time	10 a.m. (EST)
Location	Cumberland, R.I. (ForeCourt)
Social Media	Twitter: @ecutennisM Instagram: @ecumenstennis Facebook: ECU Men's Tennis

GREENVILLE, N.C. – After playing the majority of the season at home so far, the ECU men's tennis team will embark on its longest road trip of the season as the Pirates travel to Connecticut, Boston University and Bryant.

"What a great road trip we have in front of us this weekend which will be highlighted by an away match against UConn," said head coach Shawn Heinchon. "We've been fortunate to get through them the last couple years but they just continue to get better so we're going to need to play our best starting out on Friday. It won't get any easier as we get through the weekend traveling to Boston University and then finally Bryant University, which are a of couple teams that we haven't played in the past. I know our guys are looking forward to seeing a different part of the country as well as playing some different teams outside of our region."

ECU (7-1) has been dominant so far this season, outscoring opponents 41-12 in its eight matches. Six of those eight matches have come at home, with the Pirates going 5-1 in Greenville, 1-0 in road matches and 1-0 in neutral site matches.

Five Pirates have already reached double-digits in their singles win totals. Diogo Marques leads the way with a 15-8 record and the freshman is 3-2 on court one so far this season. Wisse Jonker has been a rock at court three, going 7-1 there and 13-6 overall this season. Vlad Anghel, Javier Renones and Will Bissett all have 10 wins so far. Anghel is 5-3 in dual matches, all of which are on courts one or two while Renones (4-0) and Bissett (6-0) have yet to drop a dual match. Bissett's current six-match winning streak leads ECU with Ronny Georgi's five-match streak right behind.

In doubles, ECU has mixed and matched, using 10 pairs in dual matches so far. Simon Labbe and Renones lead ECU with a 6-1 mark overall while Austin Allen and Marques are right behind at 5-1.

Connecticut (5-4) has been much better in home matches this season, going 4-0 in Storrs and just 1-4 away from home. The Huskies are coming off a tight home win over Hofstra, needing the final singles point for a 4-3 victory. John Michael Holtmann leads Connecticut with a 15-11 singles record and he is 5-4 on court two. In doubles, Hank Hill and Yili Zheng have a team-best 15-12 record and are 3-2 on court one. Last season, the two teams met twice in a four-day span, as the Pirates won 5-2 at home in the regular season finale and then 4-0 in the first round of the AAC Championship.

Boston University (2-5) will come into its match against ECU on a three-match losing streak. The Terriers are 2-0 at home and 0-5 on the road, most recently falling at Bryant 6-1. David Bogatin has a 9-9 singles record for Boston, including 3-3 on court two. The Terriers are only 2-5 on court one and 1-6 on court six. In doubles, Boston has already used 19 pairings and has just a 19-34 doubles record as a team.

Bryant (4-4) could have a drastically different outlook by the time the Bulldogs meet the Pirates, as Bryant has three road matches between Friday and Saturday. Currently the Bulldogs are on a three-match winning streak after most recently beating MIT 4-3. That match had its share of drama, with MIT leading 3-0 before Bryant came all the way back and finally clinched on a superbreaker on court six. Bryant is currently a perfect 3-0 at home this season.

ECU will head to Connecticut for a 1 p.m., match on Friday, Feb. 15. The Pirates will take on Boston University at 12:30 p.m., on Saturday, Feb. 16. The road trip will come to a close on Sunday, Feb. 17 with a 10:00 a.m., match against Bryant. Fans can follow the Pirates on Twitter at @ecutennism for live results.

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Players Mentioned

Austin Allen

Vlad Anghel

Will Bissett

Ronny Georgi

Wisse Jonker

Simon Labbe

Diogo Marques

Javier Renones

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