BUIES CREEK, N.C. – The Fighting Camels earned a hard-fought victory over the East Carolina Pirates, 5-1, Friday afternoon at the James R. Nisbet Tennis Center. Campbell's eighth-straight win gives CU a 9-1 record on the season, and the Camels are now 5-0 at home after dealing ECU just their second loss this year.

Campbell sophomore and reigning Big South Player of the Week Gerard Sola continued his perfect start to the spring, earning his eleventh-straight singles win and eighth-straight doubles win with partner Jonathan O'Neal. Big South Freshman of the Week Fernando Clemente earned his seventh-straight singles victory, while Campbell junior Lorenz Schwab won his fourth-straight.

The match began with doubles play as Nicolas Rakitin and Lukas Schaefer picked up the first win of the day on court two, defeating Anghel/Lehfeldt, 6-1. O'Neal and Sola refused to be beaten on court three, turning a 4-3 deficit into a 6-4 win over Georgi/Ling to remain undefeated and clinch the doubles point for CU.

East Carolina would not go down without a fight as the Pirates won three of six first sets in singles action, but the Camels ultimately prevailed. Clemente stayed hot with a quick 6-3, 6-1 win on court six to give CU a 2-0 lead. ECU shortened CU's lead to 2-1 with a win at No. 1 as Rakitin fell to McGeehan, 6-4, 6-4. Sola earned his ninth victory of the season after dominating the final two sets on court four to win, 5-7, 6-3, 6-0. Campbell clinched the match with a win on court five, when Schwab won in three sets, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. Seconds later, Schaefer picked up his 17th win of the 2016-17 campaign on court two, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Campbell's 9-1 start to the season is the best for the program since 2011, when CU opened the spring with the same record. Up next, the Camels are scheduled to travel to Elon, N.C. to take on the Elon Phoenix on Thursday, March 2. The match is set to begin at 2 p.m. at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. For the most up-to-date information on Campbell tennis, follow @GoCamelsTennis on Twitter.