Feb. 24, 2008

HATTIESBURG, Miss. ----- The UAB men's tennis team won for the third day in a row here Sunday at the Conference USA Shootout, defeating host Southern Mississippi, 5-2, to give head coach Derek Tarr his 300th career victory.

The Blazers (4-1) won the doubles point and then captured singles matches at No. 2, 3, 5 and 6 to cap off their perfect weekend against their C-USA foes. UAB beat East Carolina Friday and UCF Saturday before Sunday's win over the Golden Eagles.

UAB got singles wins from Hans Spangenberg (No. 2), Dan Cornei (No. 3), Brian Ly (No. 5) and Thomas Petrich (No. 6) after Southern Miss had taken a 2-1 lead in the match. Ly's 6-4, 6-3 victory at the No. 5 position over Markus Wessinghage was the clincher for the Blazers.

"It's great to come down here and get three wins," said Tarr, who saw his career record go to 300-144 (now in his 20th season). "And the fact that they came against conference opponents makes it even more important for us. There were obviously some spots that I saw that we need to improve, but overall, I am really pleased with the results here."

The Blazers were able to win the doubles point for the third straight match as well. The wins came from the No. 1 position as Ly and Spangenberg teamed to defeat USM's Domagoi Anic and Jan Burmeister, 8-4, and at No. 2 as freshmen Tyrone Ewels and Slawomir Szeremeta fought off the Golden Eagle duo of Oscar Machuca and Andrew Poole by a 9-7 score.

Southern Miss secured its only doubles win at No. 3 as Diego Machuca and Wessinghage edged Dan Cornei and Alex Emery, 8-6.

"There's no doubt doubles played a big part in us coming away with three wins this weekend," said Tarr.

With a 1-0 lead after doubles, UAB saw USM fight back with singles wins at No. 4 (Diego Machuca defeated Ewels, 6-2, 6-4) and at No. 1 (Anic defeated Szeremeta) 7-5, 6-4.

But the Blazers were able to answer back with their wins from Spangenberg (6-3, 1-6, 6-3 at No. 2 over Oscar Machuca), Cornei (6-4, 7-5 over Poole at No. 3 singles), Petrich (6-1, 4-6, 6-3 over Strate Krstevski at No. 6) and Ly at No. 5.

With his win Sunday, Cornei finished what was a perfect weekend for him in singles. The freshman from Canada won all three of his matches at No. 3 singles.

With his team's win, Tarr, now in his 20th season, improved his career record in dual matches to 300-144.

The Blazers' next match will be March 4 at home vs. Jacksonville State.

Conference USA Shootout

UAB 5, Southern Miss 2

Singles

1. Domagoj Anic (USM) def. Slawomir Szeremeta (UAB) 7-5, 6-4

2. Hans Spangenberg (UAB) def. Oscar Machuca (USM) 6-3, 1-6, 6-3

3. Dan Cornei (UAB) def. Andrew Poole (USM) 6-4, 7-5

4. Diego Machuca (USM) def. Tyrone Ewels (UAB) 6-2, 6-4

5. Brian Ly (UAB) def. Markus Wessinghage (USM) 6-4, 6-3

6. Thomas Petrich (UAB) def. Strate Krstevski (USM) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3

Doubles

1. Hans Spangenberg/Brian Ly (UAB) def. Domagoj Anic/Jan Burmeister (USM) 8-4

2. Tyrone Ewels/Slawomir Szeremeta (UAB) def. Oscar Machuca/Andrew Poole (USM) 9-7

3. Diego Machuca/Markus Wessinghage (USM) def. Dan Cornei/Alex Emery (UAB) 8-6

Records: UAB 4-1; Southern Miss 2-8