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UNCG to host nonconference foe Longwood on Tuesday
UNCG (5-3) vs. Longwood (3-3), March 8, 3 p.m., UNCG Tennis Courts
Storylines
• After opening Southern Conference play with a win Saturday, UNCG steps back out of conference when it hosts Longwood at the UNCG Tennis Courts on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
• The Spartans downed Wofford 6-1 on Saturday to open SoCon play with a win for the third straight season. Coach Thomas Mozur mixed up his doubles lineup with outstanding results, as UNCG – which had won just five doubles matches all season and just one doubles point – swept all three doubles matches to grab the early 1-0 lead over the Terriers.
• Orcun Seyrek remained at No. 1 doubles, but Timion Meijs moved up from No. 2 and the duo picked up an 8-4 win. Jacob Wright and Yaroslav Litus remained paired together but moved up to No. 2 from No. 3, and they took an 8-4 win of their own. Freshmen Chanon Varapongsittikul and Ahmet Sarioglu were paired at No. 3 and cruised to an 8-2 win.
• The Spartans won five of the six singles matches against Wofford, with Seyrek, Meijs, Litus, Sarioglu and Zach Reece picking up wins.
• UNCG is 3-1 at home this season, with two wins coming at the Starmount Forest Country Club Indoor Courts in addition to Saturday's win at the UNCG Tennis Courts. The Spartans are 17-1 in their last 18 at home, with the lone loss in that span coming on Feb. 18 to Campbell, snapping UNCG's 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 (8-0) and are 5-3 at Nos. 4 and 5.
• Youth has served the Spartans well so far this season. Three freshmen are regular contributors in singles play, and the three lead the squad in dual wins. Reece, a redshirt freshman, is 5-0 on the season in dual play and 13-4 overall on the year. Sarioglu is off to a 7-1 dual start and leads the team with 14 overall wins (14-5). Varapongsittikul is 5-3 in dual play and 12-7 overall on the season.
• Seyrek, UNCG's No. 1 singles player, is 4-4 in duals but 12-6 overall. With Saturday's singles win, Litus became the fifth Spartan to reach double figures in overall wins this season, as he moved to 4-4 in duals and 10-7 overall.
• UNCG took a 6-1 win over Longwood on Feb. 28 of last season, with Marc Ferrigno's win at No. 2 singles accounting for the Lancers' lone point. The win was the Spartans' second straight over Longwood after the Lancers' 4-2 win in 2008.
• Longwood is off to a 3-3 start to the season with a pair of losses to ranked teams. The Lancers opened the dual season with a 7-0 loss to No. 24 Virginia Tech and fell 5-0 to No. 74 Virginia Commonwealth on Jan. 30. Longwood owns a pair of wins over Richmond and beat Temple 3-2 at VCU's 4x1 Invitational. The Lancers' other loss came 7-0 at the hands of Brown.
• Last time out, Longwood swept Richmond on Thursday, 7-0.
• The Lancers feature a young lineup with four freshmen, one sophomore, one junior and just one senior, Milo Barajas-Alexander.
• In singles play, Marc Ferrigno and Crescente Lesser are both 3-3 in the dual season. Lesser leads the team with an 11-7 overall record. In doubles action, Jimmy Davis and Ferrigno are a perfect 3-0 at No. 1.
- UNCG -
