WILMINGTON, North Carolina – The UNCW men's tennis team sent popular seniors Michael Copeland and Daniel Groom out on a winning note following a 4-0 victory over South Carolina State in a non-conference match early Friday at the UNCW courts.
 
The Seahawks, recording their fifth shutout, won their third straight outing to improve to 11-4 overall. The Bulldogs stand 5-3 after having their two-match winning streak stopped.
 
It took just 28 minutes for the Seahawks, 8-1 at home this spring, to capture the doubles point and UNCW continued its hot start in singles play, winning the first three matches off the court and leading on the other three courts when play was halted.
 
Copeland, from Johannesburg, South Africa, teamed up with sophomore Leonardo Sprovieri for a 6-1 verdict over SCSU's Selim Ben Ali and Diego Arzaluz at No. 3 doubles to nail down the early point. It marked the 12th time in 15 matches that the Seahawks have collected the doubles point.
 
Copeland then got things going in singles with a 6-0, 6-2, triumph over SCSU's Erwan Momo at No. 6 singles for a 2-0 lead and junior Davide Innocenti's 6-0, 7-5, victory against Aleksa Daskaovic at No. 2 singles pushed the margin to 3-0.
 
Junior Bruno Caula, playing No. 1 singles, then clinched the match for the first time this season by racing past Marcelo Rodriguez, 6-2, 6-4.
 
The Seahawks close out the regular season with a pair of road matches, beginning Sunday in a 10 a.m. match vs. Georgia State in Roswell, Ga. UNCW then travels to Clemson on Monday for the regular season finale at 1 p.m.  
Singles
1. Bruno Caula (UNCW) def. Marcelo Rodriguez (SCSU), 6-2, 6-4
2. Davide Innocenti (UNCW) def. Aleksa Daskaovic (SCSU), 6-0, 7-5
3. Daniel Groom (UNCW) vs. Elyes Marouani (SCSU), 6-4, 5-3, unfinished
4. Bekhzod Rasamatov (UNCW) vs. Omer Berk Gorgun (SCSU), 6-2, 5-1, unfinished
5. Gabriel Hurtado (UNCW) vs. Diego Arzaluz (SCSU), 6-3, 3-2, unfinished
6. Michael Copeland (UNCW) def. Erwan Momo (SCSU), 6-0, 6-2
 
Doubles
1. Bruno Caula/Daniel Groom (UNCW) def. Elyes Marouani/Marcelo Rodriguez (SCSU), 6-1
2. Dillon Gooch/Bekhzod Rasamatov (UNCW) vs. Aleksa Daskaovic/Erwan Momo (SCSU), 5-1, unfinished
3. Leonard Sprovieri/Michael Copeland (UNCW) def. Selim Ben Ali/Diego Arzaluz (SCSU), 6-1
 
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (6,2,1)