March 13, 2010

Results

ELON, N.C. - The Samford University men's tennis team opened its five-match road trip with a Southern Conference loss Saturday against the Elon Phoenix. At The Jimmy Powell Tennis Center, the Bulldogs dropped a 5-1 decision to the resurgent Phoenix.

With the loss, Samford (8-3, 0-2 SoCon) had its two-match winning streak snapped and dropped its second straight SoCon battle. The Bulldogs were also defeated by College of Charleston in their conference opener on March 1, 5-2.

With the win, Elon (3-8, 2-0 SoCon) extended its winning streak to three-consecutive matches and earned its second straight SoCon victory. On March 6, the Phoenix defeated Georgia Southern 5-2 in its conference opener. Prior to its current winning streak, Elon opened the season with an eight-match losing string as it opened the year with a deceiving 0-8 record.

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

The Phoenix won Saturday's doubles point and tallied singles victories on courts No. 1, No. 2, No. 5 and No. 6. Samford's lone triumph occurred at the No. 4 singles position where sophomore Carson Kadi toppled Elon's Alberto Rojas 6-3, 2-6, 5-4. Rojas was forced to retire late in the third set after incurring an injury.

In the No. 3 singles matchup, Samford's Oliver Reynolds was deadlocked in a third-set tiebreaker with the Phoenix's Eric Turner when the skies opened and a massive downpour forced the players to stop. Reynolds, the Bulldogs' junior from McDonough, Ga., was attempting to win his eighth-consecutive singles 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.