CCU

Men's Tennis Hosts The Citadel Friday Afternoon

       

Men's Tennis Hosts The Citadel Friday Afternoon

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The Coastal Carolina University men’s tennis team will host The Citadel Friday, Feb. 20 at 1 p.m. The Chanticleers posted the best start in program history when they defeated Gardner-Webb 6-1 in their Big South opener. Coastal Carolina picked up two more wins last week with a 7-0 sweep at Mercer, before battling out a 4-3 win over Georgia Southern. The Chanticleers continue to look strong at doubles and have yet to surrender the point all season. Senior Joseph Withers and junior Ernesto Ramos have put together six-match winning streaks in singles during the 7-0 start. Ramos and partner senior German Perez have not dropped a doubles match all year, recording six consecutive victories.   SCOUTING THE COMPETITION   Match #8: The Citadel 1 p.m. – Conway, S.C. – Billy Nichols Tennis Center Overall: 1-1 Head Coach: Toby Simpson Bulldogs at a Glance: The Citadel fell 7-0 in its season opener to No. 61 Clemson. The Bulldogs rebounded quickly earning a 6-1 win over Presbyterian to pull to 1-1 overall. In doubles action, The Citadel has split the first two matches at each spot using Alberto Diaz and Yufo Sutantio at No. 1, Michael Kociecki and Martin King at No. 2 and Derek Dickey and Frederic Petrilli at No. 3. The Bulldogs have used tinkered with their singles lineup as Sutantio and Kociecki have swapped the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. Diaz and King will likely be at No. 3 and No. 4, while the final two slots could be occupied by Dickey, Petrilli or Frank Larkin. Series vs. The Citadel: Since 1994, these two squads have met nine times, with Coastal Carolina holding a 5-4 series advantage. The Chanticleers won the last meeting 4-3 Feb. 27, 2007. Due to the threat of severe weather conditions,  singles were played first but the teams came out even at 3-3. Two doubles matches ended and it was still even with both teams claiming a win, leaving the decision to the final pairings on court three, where Coastal Carolina got a 9-7 victory to win the match 4-3.    CHANTICLEER BREAK POINTS   Hot Spots The Chanticleers are a combined 25-3 at four singles position. Coastal Carolina is 6-1 at No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 and have swept its competition at No. 6, playing to a 7-0 record. In doubles, the Chants are 7-0 at the No. 1 spot with senior German Perez and junior Ernesto Ramos earning six of those victories.   Chants Post Best Start in Program History Coastal Carolina won six-straight matches to open the 2007 season, but bypassed that mark this season, recording its seventh-consecutive victory defeating Gardner-Webb 6-1.   Coastal Carolina Tames Bulldogs 6-1 in Big South Opener The Chants won the doubles point and then recorded five victories in singles play to claim a 6-1 win over Gardner-Webb in their Big South opener. Senior Joseph Withers put the first singles match to rest with a quick 6-0, 6-0 win over Ryan Bernthal at No. 6, while junior Ernesto Ramos dropped Andrew Veeder 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2. Junior Plamen Tzvetkov clinched the match for the Chants at the No. 4 spot capturing a 6-1, 6-3 win over Carlos Quijano.   Georgia, Georgia Coastal Carolina cruised past Mercer in its first win in Georgia, but had a tough fight the following day with Georgia Southern. The Eagles held a 3-2 advantage after doubles and four singles matches were complete. Junior Ernesto Ramos battled with Georgia Southern’s Gregory Bekker at No.2 and kept the Chants alive with a 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 win to even the score at 3-3. Shortly after, senior Joseph Withers registered the match-clinching victory, defeating Edio Castenhal 7-5, 4-6, 6-0.   Community Day on the Clay Produces Two Wins Coastal Carolina hosted Community Day on the Clay at the Prestwick Tennis Center and defeated Wofford 6-1 in the morning and followed it up by sweeping Mt. Olive 7-0 Saturday, Feb. 7. Coastal Carolina had great performances across the board and downed Mt. Olive in straight sets during singles play. Against Wofford, the Chants took five of six singles matches and then grabbed the doubles point with victories from senior German Perez and junior Ernesto Ramos with a 9-7 win at No. 1 and senior Joseph Withers and partner John Hairston earned an 8-4 win at No. 3.   Straight Set Victories Drive Chants Past Coker The Chanticleers earned six straight-set victories in singles and only dropped three games in doubles play to blow past Coker 7-0 Tuesday, Feb. 3 at the Billy Nichols Tennis Center.   Doubles Point Claims 4-3 Victory at Campbell The Coastal Carolina University men’s tennis team did not waste any time getting its first victory of the dual-match season in a thrilling 4-3 win over Campbell Friday, Jan. 30 at the Nesbett Tennis Center. The win marks the Chanticleers’ first win in Buies Creek since the 1999 season. The Chants won their opening match for the third-straight year.   Three’s a Charm The Chanticleers won their third-consecutive season opener with a 4-3 win at Campbell. In 2007, Coastal Carolina opened the year with a 7-0 sweep of Mount Olive and repeated the victory to open the 2008 season.   Withers Leading the Way Senior Joseph Withers was named captain of the 2009 squad for the second-straight year. Withers paired up with sophomore John Hairston for the best doubles record at 13-6 and finished 10-8 overall in singles play.   Chants Picked Third in Big South Preseason Poll Coastal Carolina was picked to finish third in the Big South Conference’s annual preseason poll by the league’s head coaches, it was announced Thursday, Jan. 15. The defending Big South Conference champion Radford received six first-place votes and 48 out of a possible 49 points to repeat in 2009. Radford finished ahead of Winthrop, who received one first-place vote and 41 points. Coastal Carolina finished third in the voting with 34 points, while Gardner-Webb captured the fourth spot with 25 points. Liberty was picked fifth with 24 points, followed by UNC Asheville (17) and Presbyterian (6).   New Kids on the Block After the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s men’s tennis team was discontinued after the 2008 season, Coastal Carolina men’s tennis Head Coach Chris Powers jumped at the opportunity to get more experience on his squad. Joining the 2009 Chanticleers are senior German Perez and sophomore Dorian Sovic. Perez finished 12-12 in singles and 14-7 in doubles play last season, while Sovic closed out his freshman year going 12-6 in singles and a 14-7 doubles action.   No Freshman? That’s right! The 2009 Coastal Carolina men’s tennis team has no freshmen listed on its roster. Two transfers, senior German Perez and sophomore Dorian Sovic from Arkansas-Little Rock are the only newcomers to the squad this season.    It's All Academic Coastal Carolina received its ninth straight ITA All-Academic Team selection in 2008. In order to be considered for the award, teams must have a 3.2 GPA or higher. Last year, the Chants posted a 3.6 team GPA. Senior David Mellis and sophomores Ernesto Ramos, Dmitry Vlaskin and Plamen Tzvetkov were named ITA Scholar-Athletes, which requires student-athletes to have at least a 3.5 GPA.