WILMINGTON, North Carolina - No. 43 UNCW won the doubles point and added five singles victories to whistle past Appalachian State, 6-1, in the men's tennis spring opener for both teams Thursday at the UNCW Tennis Complex.
The Seahawks carry their 1-0 record to the West Coast next weekend when they compete in the ITA Kick-off Weekend in Los Angeles. UNCW faces South Florida on Saturday (Jan. 28), with the winner taking on the winner of the Southern Cal-UNLV match in the 60-team national indoors bracketed event.
"I was very pleased with how we opened up," said fifth-year UNCW coach Mait DuBois. "Appalachian State is a strong team that has three All-Conference seniors in their top three. I thought they played exceptional doubles, but we played big on some important points to get the doubles point.
"In singles, we were strong in spurts. We need to do a little better job maintaining momentum. I was very pleased with how our two freshmen, Michael Reilly and Kaue Pereira, stepped up in some tough moments. It's a great start to their college careers."
In Thursday's debut, the Seahawks won the early doubles point when the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams picked up wins. Rafael Aita partnered with Pereira for an 8-4 victory over Steve Karendal and Matt Saltsgaver at the No. 3 slot, but UNCW dropped the No. 1 doubles match. Reilly and sophomore Pedro Mol then squeezed out a 9-8 (2) tie-breaking decision over ASU's Sebastien King and Alex Markov at No. 3 to clinch the point.
Reilly, from Raleigh, N.C., pushed the score to 2-0 with a 6-0, 7-5 verdict over Saltsgaver at No. 6 singles and Cooprider cruised past Markov, 6-3, 6-4, at No. 1 singles for a 3-0 lead. Junior Kosta Blank then clinched the match with an easy 6-3, 6-2 triumph over King at No. 4 singles.
Appalachian State picked up its lone point at No. 3 singles, where senior Alain Humblet downed Mol, 6-4, 7-6 (5).
Reilly and Pereira each enjoyed successful collegiate debuts for the Seahawks, winning in both singles and doubles.
While the Seahawks prepare for the trip to California, the Mountaineers head to Columbia, S.C., on Saturday to battle South Carolina at 10 a.m.
