March 4, 2012

Spartans to open SoCon play at Georgia Southern on Sunday

UNCG (3-5, 0-0 SoCon) at Georgia Southern (1-8, 0-0 SoCon), March 4, 12 p.m., Statesboro, Ga.

Storylines

- UNCG's men's tennis team will open Southern Conference play at Georgia Southern on Sunday with a noon match against the Eagles at the Hanner Tennis Complex.

- The Spartans are coming off a 7-0 loss at Winthrop on Thursday. Ahmet Sarioglu and Orcun Seyrek picked up UNCG's lone win of the day at No. 1 doubles.

- UNCG has finished third in the Southern Conference in each of the last three seasons. Last year, the Spartans went 8-2 in league play.

- Seyrek is ranked 11^th in singles in the Carolinas Region by the ITA. A three-time All-Southern Conference selection, Seyrek was 20-11 in singles last year, marking his third straight season with 20+ singles wins.

- Sarioglu leads the team in singles wins with a 10-7 mark on the season and is 4-4 in dual play. Seyrek (7-8) and freshman Randy Phillips (7-10) are second on the squad in wins. In doubles play, Phillips and Chanon Varapongsittikul are 7-6 together (3-5 dual at No. 2), while Sarioglu and Seyrek are 7-5 with a 5-3 dual mark at No. 1.

- Georgia Southern is 1-8 so far on the season and has lost eight straight since a season-opening win over Mercer on Jan. 27. Since then, no match has been closer than 5-2.

- The Eagles dropped a 6-1 decision to Kennesaw State on Feb. 19. Alain Garrido and Andrew Dromsky picked up an 8-1 win at No. 1 doubles, but KSU took Nos. 2 and 3 for the point. Kyle Hoffman picked up the Eagles' lone point of the day with a three-set win at No. 2 singles.

- GSU was slated to open SoCon play against Davidson on Saturday, but the match was pushed to Wednesday due to heavy rains in the Statesboro, Ga., area.

- Garrido, Dromsky and Hoffman lead GSU with two singles wins each. Dromsky and Garrido are a team-best 3-3 in doubles. Hoffman and Matthijs Verdam are 2-3 together, all at No. 1.

- Georgia Southern will be UNCG's second straight set of Eagles faced after the Spartans took on Winthrop on Thursday.

- Sunday's match will be the third home contest of GSU's six-match homestand.

- UNCG and GSU both took part in the Elon Invitational from Oct. 7-9. UNCG's Jimmy Roueche downed Georgia Southern's Sebastien Felt in singles play in the only match involving both squads.

- The Spartans have won four straight in the series against the Eagles, dating back to 2009. UNCG took a 6-1 decision in Greensboro last season, sweeping through doubles and grabbing singles wins at Nos. 2-6.

- Up next for the Spartans after GSU, UNCG heads to Conway, S.C., to take on Coastal Carolina on Tuesday at 2 p.m.

- UNCG -