RADFORD, Va. - The UNCW men's tennis team, ranked 69th nationally by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), snapped Radford's 38-match home winning streak with a 4-3 victory on Friday at the RU Tennis Courts.
The Seahawks won their second straight match to improve to 12-5 with two contests remaining in the regular season. UNCW returns home to entertain Presbyterian next Friday before closing out the regular campaign on Sunday against rival East Carolina. Radford fell to 7-9.
"We feel very good about our effort today after breaking Radford's long streak on their home court," said Mait DuBois, UNCW's third-year coach. "They have a very, very strong team. We had to compete well to get a win. I was especially proud to see the guys on the bottom of the lineup pull through for us."
In Friday's match, freshman Chris Cooprider, playing No. 5 singles, clinched his second consecutive match as the Seahawks evened their road record at 3-3 this spring.
With UNCW leading 3-2, the Denver, Colo., newcomer came from behind to knock off Zack Watson, 0-6, 6-3, 7-5, handing the Seahawks their third victory in four tries against Virginia teams this season.
UNCW jumped out to a 1-0 advantage by winning the doubles point behind wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. Radford took the No. 1 doubles point to gain an early lead, but Michael Pereira and Cooprider slipped past Watson and Igor Ogrizek, 8-6, at No. 3 doubles to bring the Seahawks even. Illia Ziamtsou and Kosta Blank then nailed down the doubles point with a 9-7 nailbiter over Erik Finkenbrink and Paul Boslet.
Ivan Salec, ranked 80th by the ITA, ran his winning streak to 12 matches with a 6-0, 6-2 verdict over Pereira at No. 1 singles to tie the match at 1-all before Blank cruised past Boslet, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 4 singles to put the Seahawks on top, 2-1.
UNCW's Alex Wetherell defeated Finkenbrink, 6-4, 6-2, at No. 6 singles to push UNCW's lead to 3-1, but Orgrizek kept the Highlanders in the match with a 6-2, 6-3 triumph over Ziamtsou at No. 3 singles. Cooprider then delivered again for the Seahawks with his gritty come-from-behind win over Watson.
The Seahawks, who have won five of their last six matches, handed RU its sixth one-point loss of the season.
