CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Eastern Illinois men's tennis continued unofficial autumn play on Wednesday (Oct. 3) afternoon, as the Panthers earned a 4-3 victory at home over Missouri-St. Louis.

"I thought we did a good job coming out in doubles and playing sound tennis, its definitely something we can build on," said EIU head coach John Blackburn.

The match came down to the final singles bout at the No. 2 spot as Michael Sperry gutted out a three-set win to help the Panthers earn the unofficial autumn victory.

"Michael came up big for us today," said Blackburn.  "After he lost a tough first set he really responded after that and played strong tennis and ended up winning the deciding match for us."

EIU swept the all-important doubles point with consecutive wins, and earned straight-set wins at No. 4 and No. 6 victories by Robert Skolik and Volodymyr Zverkovsky, respectively.

Yet the match was suddenly tied at three-all after the visiting squad picked up consecutive wins at No. 3, No. 5 and the top of the lineup before Sperry's heroics.

The Panthers are set to continue fall action on Oct. 14, as the EIU men join the women's squad for competition at the Southern Illinois Fall Shootout.

Missouri-St. Louis at Eastern Illinois
Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2012 in Charleston, Ill. (Darling Courts)

EIU Men 4, UMSL 3
Singles
1. Nils Mueggenburg (UMSL) def. Warren Race (EIU) - 3-6, 6-4, 7-5
2. Michael Sperry (EIU) def. Harry Hayburn (UMSL) - 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
3. Tim McLarty (UMSL) def. Kevin Bauman (EIU) - 6-1, 6-4
4. Robert Skolik (EIU) def. Tim Gorter (UMSL) - 6-1, 6-2
5. Nils Corrales (UMSL) def. David Constantinescu (EIU) - 6-3, 6-4
6. Volodymyr Zverkovsky (EIU) def. Irving Corrales (UMSL) - 6-0, 6-4

Doubles
1. Sperry/Bauman (EIU) def. Corrales/Corrales (UMSL) - 8-3
2. Race/Skolik (EIU) def. Mueggenburg/McLarty (UMSL) - 8-4
3. Constantinescu/Zverkovsky (EIU) def. Heyburn/Gorter (UMSL) - 8-7

Order of Finish:
Doubles: 1, 2, 3
Singles: 4, 6, 3, 5, 1, 2

... for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID