Bucs win SoCon tennis championship

from staff reports

   CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Top-seeded East Tennessee State outlasted third-seeded College of Charleston 4-2 in the finals of the 2004 Southern Conference Men's Tennis Championships.
   The Bucs improve to 20-5 with the Cougars finishing the season 16-8.
   East Tennessee State gained momentum early as its captured the doubles point. The number one doubles pair of Alejandro Salazar (Arequipa, Peru) and Oscar Posada (Valencia, Venezuela) paced the Bucs by downing the Cougars' Artie Peller and Timo Siebert, 8-4.
   At number three doubles, the Bucs' Fernando Fiuri (Villa Maria, Argentina) and Felix Insaurralde (Asunción, Paraguay) edged Liran Kling and Bastian Moldhenke 8-6 to close out the doubles point.
   The singles matches featured several three-set thrillers. The Bucs' Insaurralde knocked off Phillip Koller 6-2, 6-3 at number six singles.
   Posada was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player after defeating College of Charleston's Timo Siebert 6-2, 6-1 at number two singles. Posada, a first-team All-Conference selection, finished the tournament undefeated in both singles and doubles.
   ETSU closed out the four-hour match with Diego Iglesias' (Mar del Plata, Argentina) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win over Artie Peller at number three singles.
   With the win, ETSU finished a perfect 13-0 against SoCon opponents this season. The Bucs have also earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. Their first-round opponent will be announced in early May once selections have been made.