Men’s Tennis continues to dominate despite first loss of season

During the ECU men’s tennis team two game homestand on Friday and Sunday against the Richmond Spiders and the Appalachian State Mountaineers, the team got handed their first loss of the season.

On Sunday, after getting their first loss on Friday, the Pirates took on the Mountaineers looking to get back on track.

In the doubles matches, the Pirates got off to a good start early. Senior Fredric Lehfeldt and sophomore Will Bissett dominated their matchup to the point where they won 6-0.

Juniors Freddie McGeehan and Kasey Countee had a battle in their matchup that went back and forth. However they stayed strong and closed it out in the end to win 6-4 to give ECU the first point of the match.

In the first singles match, McGeehan had to battle throughout but he did not prevail in any of the sets. McGeehan lost the first set 6-4, and the second set 6-3 for the Mountaineers to tie up the match at 1-1.

On Court 2, sophomore Vlad Anghel battled for the victory in both sets. In the first set, it was tied at 5-5 before Anghel prevailed 7-5. In the second set it was even tighter as it was tied at 6-6. In the last game, Anghel finished the job and won 7-6 (2-0) to give ECU a 2-1 lead in the match.

Ronny Georgi had a battle himself, but he won in two sets as well. Georgi won 7-5, 7-6 to give ECU the opportunity to win the entire match with three matches to go.

“We had a good support today,” Georgi said. “The guys were just screaming all over the court supporting me. The coach helped me make sure I was ready for every point. I’m glad that I made it in two sets instead of three.

With the chance to close out the match, Countee stepped onto the court to try and give ECU the win. Countee battled in the first set and won 6-4. In the second set, Countee stayed focused and won the second set 6-3 to give ECU the win 4-1.

“I had to stay focused,” Countee said. “I felt that if I could get a break and serve well, I could win and that’s what happened.

The other two matches were unfinished since ECU already won the match 4-1.

“Our mindset, notions, and our willingness to keep working and look forward to trying to play well today was in place yesterday,” Coach Shawn Heinchon said. “That speaks volume to the type of guys we have. Our energy and our effort was where it needed to be yesterday which helped me know that we would be ready to go today and help us win.”

On Friday, the tennis team took on the Spiders which ended in a tough loss for the Pirates giving them their first loss of the year.

The Pirates struggled throughout the doubles match, not being able to gain any ground.

McGeehan and Countee lost their doubles match 6-2. Georgi and Bissett lost their doubles match 6-3 to give the Spiders a 1-0 lead in the match.

In the singles match, the Pirates battled their way back into the match where they led 3-2 at one point.

McGeehan struggled in his match to where he lost 6-1 in the first set. In the second set, he could not fight back into the match. He lost the second set, 6-2 to put the Spiders up 2-0 at this point.

Anghel had more of the momentum in his singles match. Anghel won the first set 6-1. In the second set, Anghel ultimately lost 6-1 to go to a deciding third set. In the third set, Anghel found his second wind and won the third set 6-1 to get ECU into the match.

In the third singles match, Georgi had a contest in the beginning to where he won the first set 7-6 (2). In the second set, Georgi battled once again but lost this time 7-5 to go into a deciding third set. In the third set, Georgi played strong and won third set 6-3 to tie the match at 2-2.

Lehfeldt in his match had to win in three sets showing how much of a battle it was for the Pirates against the Spiders. Lehfeldt won the first set 6-3 to shift the momentum in the Pirates’ direction. In the second set, Lehfeldt struggled and ended up losing 6-3. In the third set, Lehfeldt played strong, and outwitted his opponent to where he won 6-2 to put ECU up 3-2.

“I played my opponent five times during my college career and this is the fifth time I won,” Lehfeldt said. “I kinda knew how to play that guy. The sets were short, the points were short in the whole match.”

With the opportunity to give ECU the win and the chance to move their record to 7-0. Countee and Bissett stepped onto the court to try and secure the win for the Pirates.

Countee played in the fifth singles match of the day where he played strong but could not really get into the first set where he lost 6-2. In the second set, Countee fought to stay in the match but could not force the third set as he ended up losing the second set 6-4 to tie the match at 3-3.

Coming down to the final match and a 3-3 score, Bissett had all eyes on him as they hoped that he would get the win for ECU. In the first set, Bissett struggled to get into the set, as he lost the first 6-2. In the second set, knowing that if he lost the second set, the Pirates would be given their first loss of the year, he fought to get into it. Bissett lost the second set in the end 6-3 to give the Spiders the 4-3 win on the road, and the Pirates their first loss of the year.

“We had a tough matchup on Friday,” Heinchon said. “We competed greatly, we just did not come out on top this time.”

With the win on Sunday, the Pirates improved to 7-1 overall with their next games on the road as they will be taking on the Temple Owls on Friday and the Delaware Blue Hens on Saturday.