WILMINGTON, N.C. - The No. 1 doubles team of Michael Pereira and Ryan Ybarra fought off three match points as 52nd-ranked UNC Wilmington edged No. 74 Elon, 4-3, in men's tennis action Saturday at the UNCW courts.
The Seahawks won their second straight match to improve to 3-1 on the season. The Phoenix dropped to 0-4 this spring.
"We knew Elon would come out and play us very hard," said third-year UNCW coach Mait DuBois. "I was pleased with the way we competed today. We had a number of players that weren't feeling 100 percent, and we were still able to get out with a victory."
UNCW swept the doubles point as UNCW's No. 58 tandem of Max Ando Hirsh and Kinshuk Sharma thumped Alberto Rojas and Eric Turner, 8-2, and Kosta Blank and Illia Ziamtsou defeated Elon's Carlos Arboleda and Thomas Darling by the identical score at the No. 3 position.
The No. 1 tandem of Pereira and Ybarra had their hands full before finally taking down Chase Helpingstine and Philip Nemec, 8-7, in a tie-breaker after surviving three match points.
DuBois said, "Our doubles continues to improve. We were able to sweep the doubles from a team that had taken the doubles point off us last year."
In singles, the first three matches were decided in three sets. Junior Alex Wetherell nailed down with win with a hard-fought 7-6, 6-4 decision over Elon's Cody Stauffer-MacDowell.
"Alex put in a great performance today," said DuBois. "He played with a lot of fire and emotion, and it was a true lift to the rest of the team. It was very fitting that he clinched the match for us.
The Seahawks travel to Campbell on Tuesday, Feb. 16, for a 2 p.m. match with the Camels in Buies Creek, N.C.
