Bulldogs Host Winthrop University in Friday Match-up

THE MATCHUP

Teams: Asheville (7-7, 3-2 BSC)

Winthrop University (9-11, 3-2 BSC)

Location: Asheville Racquet Club/ Asheville, N.C.

Time: 2:00 p.m.

ASHEVILLE– The UNC Asheville Men's Tennis team hosts reigning conference champion, Winthrop University in a fight for sole possession of third place in the Big South conference standings at the Asheville Racquet Club on Friday, April 1 at 2:00 p.m.

The Bulldogs and the Eagles are both 3-2 in BSC play through 2016, with Asheville (7-7, .500) just edging out Winthrop (9-11, .450) in overall percentage for third place in the conference.

NOTABLES

Head-to-Head: Winthrop took the 2015 conference crown with three wins against Radford, Liberty and Campbell on Asheville's home court, the Asheville Racquet Club. The Bulldogs dropped their 2015 contest to the Eagles in Rock Hill on March 20, 6-1. The last time the Bulldogs faced the Eagles at home was in April of 2014. Winthrop delivered a 5-2 victory with five straight singles wins in flights 2-6.

Last Time Out: The Bulldogs have put together a two-game win-streak with conference wins over Gardner-Webb University and Campbell University this past week. Asheville's 4-3 win over Campbell on Saturday gave them their third conference win this season. The Bulldogs started the match with a dominant performance in singles play, with two quick wins in flights one and two to give them a 1-0 head start over the Camels. Asheville added singles wins from Thomas Orestis-Panoulas (7-5, 6-4), Henry Patten (6-2, 6-4) and Brett Landau (6-4, 6-3, 7-6) to clinch the match.

Bulldogs on a Roll: Asheville has three Bulldogs putting together individual win-streaks going into Friday's conference match-up. Big South Conference Freshman of the Week, Patten leads Asheville with 10 individual wins, courtesy of his current five-match win-streak. Senior, Panoulas adds a three-match win-streak, along with Landau who brings two back-to-back victories into the contest.

QUOTABLES FORM HEAD COACH TOM HAND

On the Match- “Winthrop is always one of the top teams in our league. We know we will have to have one of our better days to win.”

UP NEXT

-Following Friday's match, the Bulldogs will host Longwood University on Saturday, April 2 at 3:00 p.m. where they will honor the program's four seniors, Alex Croker, Brett Landau, Daniel Kripak and Thomas Orestis-Panoulas. This will be the Bulldogs' last match before the Big South Conference Tournament in Lynchburg, Va., on April 13-16.