Sunday, February 29, 2004

STATESBORO, Ga. (Feb. 29, 2004) - The East Tennessee State men's tennis squad swept the doubles pairings and used convincing wins in three of six singles matches to post a 6-1 Southern Conference victory over Georgia Southern Sunday afternoon at the Hanner Courts. The Buccaneers posted straight-set wins in three of six singles positions and secured the doubles point, thanks to victories by Oscar Posada (Valencia, Venezuela) and Alejandro Salazar (Arequipa, Peru) (8-2) at the No. 1 position, Diego Iglesias (Mar del Plata, Argentina) and Moises Serrano (Bucaramanga, Columbia) (8-2) at the No. 2 slot and Fernando Fiuri (Villa Maria, Argentina) and Felix Insaurralde (Asuncion, Paraguay) (8-5) at the No. 3 event. East Tennessee State (5-4, 1-0) utilized singles triumphs from Salazar (5-2, retired) at No. 1, Posada (6-1, 6-2) at No. 2, Iglesias (6-3, 6-3) at No. 3, Serrano (6-2, 1-6, 7-5) at No. 5 and Insaurralde (6-1, 6-2) at No. 6 to snap a three-match losing streak. Georgia Southern (5-8, 0-2) used Lasha Janashia's 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 decision over Fiuri at the No. 4 singles position for its only victory of the afternoon. "We played well against Georgia Southern, but we have one piece we have to fix, which will make us even stronger and harder to beat," commented ETSU head coach Yaser Zaatini. GSU will return to action Saturday, March 6 when it hosts Wofford in a SoCon match scheduled to start at 11:00 a.m. ETSU returns home to face league foe Elon Saturday, also beginning at 11:00 a.m. "Elon is a dangerous unknown for us," stated Zaatini. "They played well against Charleston and we need to be prepared so they don't sneak up on us." ETSU 6, GSU 1 Singles 1. Alejandro Salazar (ETSU) def. Vincent Patry (GSU) 5-2 (retired) 2. Oscar Posada (ETSU) def. Danie van den Heever (GSU) 6-1, 6-2 3. Diego Iglesias (ETSU) def. Doruk Baglan (GSU) 6-3, 6-3 4. Lasha Janashia (GSU) def. Fernando Fiuri (ETSU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 5. Moises Serrano (ETSU) def. Tom Green (GSU) 6-2, 1-6, 7-5 6. Felix Insaurralde (ETSU) def. Stephen Dubienski (GSU) 6-1, 6-2 Doubles 1. Posada/Salazar (ETSU) def. Patry/van den Heever (GSU) 8-2 2. Iglesias/Serrano (ETSU) def. Baglan/Janashia (GSU) 8-2 3. Fiuri/Insaurralde (ETSU) def. Dubienski/Green (GSU) 8-5 Team Records East Tennessee State 5-4 (1-0 SoCon), Georgia Southern 5-8 (0-2 SoCon)