 |  |
Spartans set to open SoCon play Saturday vs. Wofford
UNCG (4-3, 0-0 SoCon) vs. Wofford (4-5, 0-0 SoCon), March 5, 1 p.m., UNCG Tennis Courts
Storylines
• UNCG's men's tennis team hosts Wofford on Saturday looking to win its Southern Conference opener for the third straight season. The match is slated for a 1 p.m. start at the UNCG Tennis Courts.
• The Spartans are going for their second straight win over Wofford. UNCG beat the Terriers last season, 5-2 on March 20.
• Last time out, UNCG fell at UNC Wilmington 6-1 on Feb. 26. Redshirt freshman Zach Reece picked up UNCG's lone win, at No. 6 singles.
• UNCG is 2-1 at home this season, but both wins have come at the Starmount Forest Country Club Indoor Courts. The Spartans fell to Campbell at the UNCG Tennis Courts on Feb. 18, snapping a 15-match home winning streak that dated back to the 2008-09 season.
• UNCG has gotten impressive performances at the bottom of the singles lineup this season, as the Spartans have yet to drop a match at No. 6 (7-0) and are 5-2 at No. 5.
• As impressive as the Spartans have been in singles play, UNCG has struggled in doubles thus far, winning the point only once in its first seven matches and winning just five doubles matches total. Jacob Wright and Yaroslav Litus have won their last two matches at No. 3. Litus and Wright went 5-1 in fall tournament play, but are 2-3 so far this dual season.
• Reece is 4-0 on the season in dual play and 12-4 overall on the year.
• Freshman Ahmet Sarioglu dropped his first singles match of the season last weekend at UNCW, falling at No. 5, 6-4, 6-3. He is now 6-1 in dual play and 13-5 overall.
• Another freshman, Chanon Varapongsittikul, is 5-2 in dual matches and 12-6 on the season. Junior Orcun Seyrek, UNCG's No. 1 singles player, is 3-4 in duals but 11-6 overall.
• Wofford has won three of its last four after opening the season 1-4. The Terriers topped Gardner-Webb 4-3 on Monday, dropping the doubles point but winning singles matches at Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 6.
• Wofford has found its most singles success at Nos. 3 and 4, where the Terriers are 5-4 at each. The lone Terrier with a winning record in the dual season is Alan Donald, who is 6-3 so far on the season. Donald is 1-1 at No. 3 and 5-2 at No. 4. Tom Wood is 4-4 at No. 6 and has won his last three.
• In doubles play, Wofford is 3-6 at No. 1 and 5-4 at No. 2, but just 1-8 at No. 3. Stuart Robertson and Tinus Van Wyk are 3-4 at No. 1.
• The Terriers are 1-4 on the road so far this season, with their lone win coming at Presbyterian on Feb. 17.
• Wofford won its SoCon opener last year, as well, topping Georgia Southern on March 7, 5-2.
- UNCG -
