March 13, 2011

Results

SAINT LEO, Fla. - The Samford University men's tennis team opened its two-match road trip with a decisive 8-1 victory Sunday as the Bulldogs defeated the Saint Leo Lions in a non-conference duel held at the Saint Leo Tennis Center. Division II scoring was used in the match, because Saint Leo (9-4) was the home team in the competition.

Samford (9-3) swept the doubles matches Sunday to take an early 3-0 lead in the competition. The Bulldogs then earned victories in singles play from Carson Kadi, Zac Dunkle, Carl Abalos, Oliver Reynolds and Alexander Sajonz to register their final 8-1 team triumph.

In doubles play, Samford's tandem of Abalos and Reynolds earned an 8-6 victory on court No. 1, while the Bulldogs' duo comprised of Dunkle and Sajonz won an 8-4 match in the No. 2 singles contest. In the quickest match of the doubles competition, Samford's Kadi and Costa cruised to an 8-0 triumph over Saint Leo's combination of Pablo Chavez and Tom Gleeson on court No. 3.

Saint Leo, a Division II powerhouse and the 44th-ranked team in the nation, had its eight-match winning streak snapped Sunday. Prior to their loss against Samford, the Lions' previous defeat was an 8-1 setback versus Columbus State on Feb. 25. Earlier this season, Samford also lost to Columbus State 5-2.

In Sunday's singles competition, the Bulldogs' Kadi, Dunkle, Reynolds and Sajonz all cruised to straight-set victories. In the No. 3 singles matchup, Samford's Abalos came from behind to defeat Saint Leo's Aloua Adjenak 1-6, 6-1, 10-7.

The Bulldogs' Kadi and Sajonz both improved their singles records to 9-2 this season, while Abalos, Dunkle and Reynolds all upped their totals to 8-3.

In the doubles competition this year, Samford combination of Dunkle and Sajonz earned their third straight victory to improve to 10-1.

The Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action Monday at 2 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs conclude their brief two-match Spring Break road trip with a non-conference contest to be held against the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles in Fort Myers, Fla.