October 14, 2011

DURHAM, N.C. and CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – UNCG senior Orcun Seyrek and sophomore Ahmet Sarioglu are still alive at the USTA/ITA Carolinas Regional Championships, being played at Duke's Sheffield Tennis Center and North Carolina's Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center, with both advancing to the round of 32 with wins Friday.

UNCG played in both locations on the second day of the tournament, with Seyrek, Chanon Varapongsittikul and Jimmy Roueche playing at North Carolina and Sarioglu, Will Kent and Randy Phillips playing at Duke.

At North Carolina, Seyrek earned a first-round bye before knocking off Presbyterian's Grayson Mills in the round of 64, 6-1, 6-4. Varapongsittikul also advanced to the second round with a 6-4, 7-5 win over South Carolina State's Anton Protetsenko, but saw his tournament run come to an end with a 7-5, 6-4 loss to South Carolina's Nick Jones, the 16^th seed in the tournament.

Roueche fell in the first round to North Carolina's Oystein Steiro, 6-4, 6-4. 

Eight miles down U.S. 15-501, Sarioglu and Phillips earned first-round wins at Duke. Phillips topped Furman's Joel Cook 6-1, 6-4, while Sarioglu downed USC Upstate's Edgar Rodriguez 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-4.

In the round of 64, Phillips fell victim to third-seeded Chris Mengel of Duke, 6-1, 6-1. Sarioglu beat UNC Asheville's Jason Brobeck 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-4 to keep his tournament run going. 

South Carolina's Carl Eguez topped Kent in the first round, 6-3, 6-2. 

The remainder of the tournament will be played at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center in Chapel Hill. Seyrek, the 10^th seed, will take on Winthrop's Dejon Bivens at noon Saturday, while Sarioglu will face South Carolina's Ivan Machado at 2:30 p.m.

AGATE
USTA/ITA Carolinas Regional Championships (Oct. 14, 2011)
Round of 128
(Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Chanon Varapongsittikul (UNCG) def. Anton Protetsenko (South Carolina State), 6-4, 7-5
Oystein Steiro (North Carolina) def. Jimmy Roueche (UNCG), 6-4, 6-4
Orcun Seyrek (UNCG) receives first-round bye
(Durham, N.C.)
Carl Eguez (South Carolina) def. Will Kent (UNCG), 6-3, 6-2
Randy Phillips (UNCG) def. Joel Cook (Furman), 6-1, 6-4
Ahmet Sarioglu (UNCG) vs. Edgar Rodriguez (USC Upstate), 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-4

Round of 64
(Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Nick Jones (South Carolina) def. Chanon Varapongsittikul (UNCG), 7-5, 6-4
Orcun Seyrek (UNCG) def. Grayson Mills (Presbyterian), 6-1, 6-4
(Durham, N.C.)
Chris Mengel (Duke) def. Randy Phillips (UNCG), 6-1, 6-1
Ahmet Sarioglu (UNCG) vs. Jason Brobeck (UNC Asheville), 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-4

- UNCG -