Bulldogs Face No. 6 Seeded Winthrop in Thursday's Quarterfinal Matchup

THE MATCHUP

Big South Conference Championship: Quarterfinals

Teams: Asheville (10-7, 6-2 BSC)

Winthrop University (10-13, 4-4 BSC)

Location: Hershey-Esbenshade Tennis Courts / Lynchburg, Va.

Time: 2:00 p.m.

LIVE STATS

LYCHBURG– The No. 3 seeded UNC Asheville Men's Tennis team will open the 2016 Big South Conference Championship Tournament on Thursday, April 14 at 2:00 against the No. 6 seeded Eagles of Winthrop University.

NOTABLES

Head-to-Head: During the regular season, the Bulldogs hosted the Eagles on April 1 at the Asheville Racquet Club. Asheville delivered a 6-1 victory over Winthrop as the first part of the Bulldogs' Senior Weekend. The Bulldogs clinched the doubles point with wins in flights one and two for an early 1-0 lead. Winthrop took the match in flight one to start singles play, but it would be their only victory of the day as the Bulldogs swept flights two through six for their fourth conference victory.

Last Time Out: The Bulldogs are enjoying a five-match win-streak headed into the Conference tournament this weekend. Their last victory came as a 4-0 win over conference foe, Radford University in Radford, Virginia. The Bulldogs took the doubles match and collected singles victories from Daniel Kripak (6-4, 6-2), Brett Landau (8-6, 6-3) and Josh Swindler (8-6, 6-2) to end the match due to decision.

Big South Honorees: Five Bulldogs brought home top honors in the 2016 Big South Conference Annual Awards announced earlier today. Freshman Henry Patten was named Singles First Team All-Conference, while Thomas Orestis-Panoulas and Josh Swindler earned Singles Second Team All-Conference honors. The pair of Brett Landau and Alex Croker earned Doubles First Team All-Conference Honors and Asheville's Patten and Josh Swindler received a Doubles Second Team All-Conference nod. Panoulas was one of nine players in the League to be named the to the Big South Conference All-Academic team.

QUOTABLES FORM HEAD COACH TOM HAND

On the Tournament- “The regular season often has very little bearing on the tournament. We know we are in for a real battle against a team that has a ton of experience in these situations."

UP NEXT

-With a win on Thursday, the Bulldogs will play the winner of No. 2 Presbyterian and No. 7 Campbell in a Semifinal match on Friday at 2:00 p.m.