Pirates Drop Road Match To North Florida

Wednesday, March 6

Jacksonville, FL

1 PM

East Carolina University

University of North Florida

Photo by: Rob Taylor

March 06, 2019 | Men's Tennis

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, FLA. – An early lead was not enough as the ECU men's tennis team lost at North Florida 4-3 on Wednesday afternoon.

"It was great to see us play so well in doubles as we have been putting a lot of emphasis on that over the past few weeks," said assistant coach Ian Van Cott. "Losing ones like this are always painful, but I know our guys will learn from it and continue to press on."

ECU (11-3) lost for just the first time in five true road matches. North Florida (5-8) snaps a five-match losing streak with the win.

The Pirates took the lead by winning two of the three doubles matches. Austin Allen and Diogo Marques continued to flourish as a duo, beating Sahil Deshmukh and Dominik Barton 6-3 on court two. It was the pair's sixth straight win on court two and eighth as a tandem. North Florida answered when Federico Nani and Jorge Nunez beat Vlad Anghel and Will Bissett 6-4 on court three.

The third and final doubles match came down to a tiebreaker and even then that tiebreaker had to be extended to finally decide a winner. In the end, ECU's top pairing of Wisse Jonker and Javier Renones came out on top, beating Nilo Duarte and Till Von Winning 7-6 (9-7).

Although ECU held that 1-0 lead thanks to the doubles point, the lead quickly turned sour in singles play. The Ospreys won five of the first sets in singles play, as Renones was the only Pirate to claim an opening set.

North Florida tied the match when Deshmukh beat Marques 6-2, 6-4 on court one. Renones regained the lead for ECU though as he continued his stellar start to the spring. The junior beat Nunez 6-2, 6-2 on court four, his tenth straight victory.

From there, North Florida took its first lead. First, Duarte topped Ronny Georgi 6-3, 7-5 on court five. Barton then beat Anghel 6-3, 6-4 on court two.

With ECU hanging on the edge of defeat, both Jonker and Bissett turned around first set deficits by winning their respective second sets. Needing both matches to go their way to pull out the team win, the Pirates had a chance as Jonker and Bissett battled in the third set. Unfortunately, Jonker fell in a tough match to Von Winning, losing 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 on court three to clinch the victory for North Florida. Bissett finished the match with a 1-6 (5-7), 6-4, 7-6 win on court six, giving ECU three points on the day.

The Pirates will have 11-days before their next match. ECU will head to Williamsburg, Va., for a match against William & Mary on Sunday, March 17.

Singles Results
1. Sahil Deshmukh (NF) def. Diogo Marques (ECU) 6-2, 6-4
2. Dominik Barton (NF) def. Vlad Anghel (ECU) 6-3, 6-4
3. Till Von Winning (NF) def. Wisse Jonker (ECU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
4. Javier Renones (ECU) def. Jorge Nunez (NF) 6-2, 6-2
5. Nilo Duarte (NF) def. Ronny Georgi (ECU) 6-3, 7-5
6. Will BIssett (ECU) def. Federico Nani (NF) 1-6 (7-5), 6-3, 7-6

Doubles Results
1. Wisse Jonker/Javier Renones (ECU) def. Nilo Duarte/Till Von Winning (NF) 7-6 (9-7)
2. Austin Allen/Diogo Marques (ECU) def. Sahil Deshmukh/Dominik Barton (NF) 6-3
3. Federico Nani/Jorge Nunez (NF) def. Vlad Anghel/Will Bissett (ECU) 6-4

Match Notes
ECU 11-3
North Florida 5-8
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,4,5,2,3,6)