WILMINGTON, N.C. - Sparked by junior Kinshuk Sharma's three-set win in the quarterfinals of Flight A Singles, the UNC Wilmington men's tennis team opened its UNCW Fall Invitational Tennis Tournament on Friday by winning 14 out of its 15 matches.

      Sharma, a junior from Chandgarh, India, breezed past Winthrop's Diego Toledo, 6-0, 6-2, in his first match of the day before downing Elon's Carlos Arboledo-Garcia, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, in an entertaining quarterfinal encounter.

      UNCW landed three players in the semifinals of Flight B Singles. Freshman Chris Cooprider advanced with a come-from-behind 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, victory over Winthrop's Liran Levy. Cooprider will face Elon's Cody Stauffer-MacDowell on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. UNCW freshman Kosta Blank and junior Alex Wetherell will meet in the other side of the bracket after both players recorded straight-set wins in the quarters.

      "Our team really enjoys playing at home and I think it showed today," said Mait DuBois, UNCW's second-year coach. "We had a lot of tight matches. I was pleased to see us work our way through so many tough situations.

      "One of the highlights of the day for me was seeing two of our freshmen, Chris (Cooprider) and Kosta (Blank), battle through tough matches that I don't think either one of them would have won a month ago. You can really see their experience and confidence building. It's nice to see their hard work pay off for them."

      Play continues early Saturday with doubles action beginning at 9:45 a.m.