March 12, 2010

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University men's tennis team will begin play in its five-match, spring break road trip Saturday at noon (CST) as the Bulldogs square off against the Elon Phoenix in a Southern Conference showdown to be held at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center in Elon, N.C.

Samford (8-2, 0-1 SoCon) heads into Saturday's match riding the positive momentum of a two-match winning streak. After suffering a hard-fought 5-2 decision against College of Charleston on March 1, the Bulldogs have rattled off consecutive victories versus Mercer 4-3 and Birmingham-Southern 7-0.

In Wednesday's shutout win against Birmingham-Southern, Samford swept all of the doubles and singles matches. The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point and then received singles wins from Zac Dunkle, Scott Foster, Oliver Reynolds, Carson Kadi, Carl Abalos and Adam Witcher.

With Reynolds' dominant 6-1, 6-1, triumph in the No. 3 singles contest, Samford's junior native of McDonough, Ga., extended his winning streak to eight-consecutive matches and improved his record on the season to 8-1.

Reynolds, who was named the SoCon's Player of the Week on March 2, finished the opening month of the 2010 campaign with a 5-1 singles record and a 3-1 mark in doubles play. He led the Bulldogs to a stellar 6-1 record in February and ended the month with a five-match winning streak in singles play and a three-match winning streak in doubles play.

As a team, Samford finished February with a six-match winning streak. Reynolds split time between the No. 2 and No. 3 singles positions, but competed in every dual match at the No. 1 doubles position along with teammate Carl Abalos.

Samford is off to one of its best starts in school history. The Bulldogs own an 8-2 record this season with their only losses coming against Georgia State and College of Charleston.

Elon (2-8, 1-0 SoCon) also enters Saturday's contest in the midst of a two-match winning streak. After opening the season with eight-consecutive losses, the Phoenix has rallied for a pair of victories against Charlotte 6-1 and Georgia Southern 5-2.

In its most recent outing, Elon opened SoCon play with a home win over Georgia Southern. The Phoenix won the critical doubles point for a second straight match and then rallied for four singles victories.

During Elon's eight-match losing streak to open the 2010 campaign, the Phoenix faced six nationally-ranked opponents, including 19th-ranked Duke and 46th-ranked South Carolina.

Following Saturday's SoCon match, the Samford men's tennis team will next be in action Sunday at noon (CDT) as the Bulldogs continue their five-match road trip against the UNC Greensboro Spartans at the UNCG Tennis Courts.