April 13, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -
The Samford University men's tennis team will play its final home match of the 2010 campaign Wednesday at 6 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs welcome the 28th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide to the Samford Tennis Center for an in-state showdown.
Samford (11-10) heads into the contest with aspirations of bouncing back from a 6-1 loss at Appalachian State on Sunday. In the defeat, the Bulldogs' Carson Kadi earned the team's lone victory in singles play as he knocked off the Mountaineers' Peter Jacobs in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, on court No. 1.
Kadi, Samford's all-conference performer from New Orleans, La., earned his second straight victory Sunday and improved his record on the season to 12-8.
The Bulldogs' Oliver Reynolds owns the team's best singles record this year. A junior from McDonough, Ga., Reynolds has compiled an 11-6 mark in dual play this season and is 9-3 when playing on court No. 3. Reynolds also holds a perfect 2-0 record in the No. 2 singles competition this year.
Samford owns a 7-5 mark at home this season and is 8-4 against nonconference opponents. From Feb. 6 until March 10, the Bulldogs registered eight-consecutive victories versus nonconference foes.
No. 28-ranked Alabama (11-11) enters Wednesday's in-state showdown having won three of its previous four matches. After losing to ninth-ranked Kentucky on March 28, the Crimson Tide rattled off consecutive victories against No. 46 LSU, No. 50 Arkansas and No. 55 Mississippi State.
In Alabama's most recent outing, the Crimson Tide dropped a hard-fought 4-3 decision against 11th-ranked Ole Miss on April 11. In the loss, Alabama's Michael Thompson was defeated in the decisive singles contest on court No. 3, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(5).
The Crimson Tide's top singles player this dual-match season has been senior Saketh Myneni. Alabama's native of Andhra Pradesh, India, has compiled a 13-6 record at the highly competitive No. 1 singles position this year.
Last season, the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide squared off in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and 19th-ranked Alabama picked up a 7-0 victory at the UA Tennis Complex.
Following Wednesday's in-state matchup with Alabama, the Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action Sunday at 10 a.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs close out the season with a Southern Conference road contest against the Georgia Southern Eagles in Statesboro, Ga.
