April 10, 2011
Results
BOONE, N.C. -
The Samford University men's tennis team came up just short in a hard-fought Southern Conference match on the road against the Appalachian State Mountaineers on Sunday as the Bulldogs dropped a 4-3 decision held at the ASU Tennis Courts.
Samford (14-6, 4-4 SoCon) swept all three doubles matches, but was defeated in four of the six singles contests.
Appalachian State (14-5, 6-2 SoCon) clinched Sunday's conference duel in singles play as Philip Kloc barely held on for a three-set win against the Bulldogs' Zac Dunkle. In the deciding contest held on court No. 2, Kloc won the first set 7-5 before Dunkle rallied for a 6-3 triumph in the second frame. To clinch the 4-3 victory for the Mountaineers, Kloc won the third set 7-5.
Samford opened the match with a trio of victories in doubles play to take an early 1-0 lead in the contest.
On court No. 1, the Bulldogs' combination of Oliver Reynolds and Carl Abalos tallied an 8-4 victory, while Samford's No. 2 doubles tandem of Alexander Sajonz and Dunkle registered an 8-7(10) triumph against Appalachian State's pairing of Alex Markov and Sebastien King. On court No. 3, the Bulldogs' duo comprised of Carson Kadi and Fernando Costa held on for a thrilling 9-8(2) win.
In singles play, the Mountaineers claimed a 2-1 lead in the match with victories on courts No. 1 and No. 6. Samford's Costa then evened the score at 2-2 with a 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 triumph in the No. 5 singles contest.
Appalachian State recorded the next two singles wins to reach the decisive four-point mark in the match. The Mountaineers' King was victorious on court No. 4, while Kloc held on to clinch the win on court No. 2.
Samford's final singles triumph occurred in the No. 3 duel as Abalos rallied back for a 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 victory against Appalachian State's Alain Humblet. With his win, Abalos improved his singles record to 14-5 this season and made the final score of Sunday's match 4-3.
Costa, the Bulldogs' talented sophomore from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, moved his singles record on the season to 13-6 with his victory on court No. 5.
The Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action Friday at 3 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs continue their three-match, season-ending road trip against the Wofford Terriers in a key contest to be held in Spartanburg, S.C.
