March 5, 2012

UNCG (4-5) at Coastal Carolina (7-1), March 6, 2 p.m., Conway, S.C.

Storylines

- UNCG's men's tennis team steps out of Southern Conference play to take on Coastal Carolina in Conway, S.C., on Tuesday.

- The Spartans opened SoCon play with a gritty 4-3 win at Georgia Southern on Sunday. The Spartans rallied for the win after dropping the doubles point and the first set in four of the six singles matches. After trailing 5-4 in his third set, freshman Cameron Smith won his final three games to clinch the match for UNCG with a 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 7-5 victory at No. 5.

- Senior Orcun 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.

- Sophomore Ahmet Sarioglu leads the team in singles wins with a 11-7 mark on the season and is 5-4 in dual play. Seyrek (8-8) and freshman Randy Phillips (8-10) are second on the squad in wins. In doubles play, Sarioglu and Seyrek are a team-best 8-5 with a 6-3 mark at No. 1.

- UNCG has alternated wins and losses over its last four matches.

- The Spartans are 2-1 against Big South teams so far this season, with wins over Gardner-Webb and UNC Asheville and a loss at Winthrop.

- Coastal Carolina is 7-1 and has won five straight since a 5-2 setback to No. 44 UNCW on Feb. 3.  

- The Chanticleers ran their Big South record to 2-0 with a 5-2 win over Campbell on Feb. 28, handing coach Chris Powers his 100^th career win. CCU got wins at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles and Nos. 3-6 singles.

- Yusuke Kusuda is a team-best 7-0 for the Chants, including a 6-0 mark at No. 3. Garik Yedigarian shares the team lead with seven wins (7-1) and is 4-1 at No. 5. Leo Christofides is 6-2, all at No. 2.

- In doubles play, Kusuda and Matias Di Pasquale are 6-2 together with a 5-1 mark at No. 1. Yedigarian and Danny Heidecker are 5-2 together with a 4-1 mark at No. 2.

- UNCG and Coastal last met on March 18, 2010, with the Spartans taking a 4-3 win. Seyrek is the only UNCG remaining on the roster to have seen action that day. He came away with victories at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles.

- The squads both sent representatives to several of the same fall tournaments. UNCG and Coastal were both at the ITA Men's All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla., and the USTA/ITA Carolinas Regional Championships in Chapel Hill, N.C., in October but did not face each other. The teams did square off at the Elon Invitational that same month, with Coastal's John Karle downing UNCG's Will Kent in singles play. Kent and Phillips topped Karle and Heidecker in doubles play the following day.

- Up next for the Spartans after CCU, UNCG heads to Charleston, S.C., to take resume SoCon play at The Citadel on Thursday at 1 p.m.

- UNCG -