Friday, April 07, 2006

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (April 8, 2006) - The ETSU men's tennis team fell to the UAB Blazers, 4-3, snapping a 12-game win streak. The Bucs are now 18-6 on the year while the Blazers improve to 11-3 with the win.

UAB took the lead early by winning the doubles point. In No. 1 doubles Anton Mavrin and Johannes Spangenberg defeated Felix Insaurralde (Asuncion, Paraguay) and Lisandro Picardo (Mar del Plata, Argentina), 8-5 and Kristijan Mitrovski and Thomas Weiss defeated Juan Crosa (Asuncion, Paraguay) and Matt Stanley (Kingsport, Tenn.) 8-3, at the No. 3 position to clench the doubles point. In the No. 2 doubles match Enrique Olivares (Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela) and Sebastian Serrano (Cartagena, Colombia) defeated Sebastian Falk and Andre Maier, 8-6.

In singles action, Oscar Posada (Valencia, Venezuela) retired due to back spasms and an upset stomach, which gave the Blazers a 2-0 lead. Enrique Olivares defeated Andre Maier, 6-2, 7-5 in the No. 4 position, while Lisandro Picardo defeated Johannes Spangenberg, 6-1, 7-6 to even the score at 2-2. Sophomore Sebastian Serrano defeated Kruno Despotovski, 7-5, 7-6 to take their first lead of the match. In the No. 3 slot, Juan Crosa was defeated by Kristijan Mitrovski, 7-6, 7-5 to let the Blazers tie the match. Sebastian Faulk then defeated Felix Insaurralde, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 to hand the Bucs the loss.

"The match went down to the wire and we were tied 3-all. Felix was in the deciding match when an un-sportsmanlike penalty was given to Juan Crosa, which cost us the match," said head coach Yaser Zaatini.

ETSU's next match is scheduled for Thursday, April 13 when the Buccaneers travel to Macon, Ga. for the Atlantic-Sun Conference Tournament. The Bucs will face the winner of #9 Jacksonville/ #8 Florida Atlantic. The match will be played at 9 a.m.

UAB 4, ETSU 3

Singles
1- Anton Mavrin (UAB) def. Oscar Posada (ETSU) default

2- Sebastian Falk (UAB) def. Felix Insaurralde (ETSU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-3

3- Kristijan Mitrovski (UAB) def. Juan Crosa (ETSU) 7-6, 7-5

4- Enrique Olivares (ETSU) def. Andre Maier (UAB) 6-2, 7-5

5- Lisandro Picardo (ETSU) def. Johannes Spangenberg (UAB) 6-1, 7-6

6- Sebastian Serrano (ETSU) def. Kruno Despotovski (UAB) 7-5, 7-6

Doubles

1- Mavrin/Spangenberg (UAB) def. Insaurralde/Picardo (ETSU) 8-5

2- Olivares/Serrano (ETSU) def. Falk/Maier (UAB) 8-6

3- Mitrovski/Weiss (UAB) def. Crosa/Stanley (ETSU) 8-3