Jan. 29, 2012

Results

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University men's tennis team kicked off its 2012 dual-match schedule with a thrilling 4-3 victory Sunday as the Bulldogs used a straight-set singles triumph from Fernando Costa on court No. 4 to defeat the Lipscomb Bison in a non-conference contest held at the Samford Tennis Complex.

"We are happy to start the season off with a win," said Samford head coach Rahim Esmail. "The guys have been working hard lately and it was nice to put that hard work to use today. I give a lot of credit to the way Lipscomb competed. They fought extremely hard and did not give us an inch on any court."

With the overall score of the match knotted at 3-3, all attention shifted to court No. 4 where Samford's Costa and Lipscomb's Colby Shaw battled for the key victory. Costa, the Bulldogs' sophomore from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, secured his team's overall win with a 6-2, 6-4 triumph over Shaw.

"We had our chances in every singles match," said Esmail. "I am happy that we were able to put ourselves in that position. Fernando did a great job of digging deep and closing things out."

Each team tallied three victories in singles play Sunday. The Bulldogs' Zac Dunkle, Elliott Barnwell and Costa were each triumphant, while Lipscomb (1-1) received wins from Oliver Strecker, Daniel Hernandez and Miguel Cortez.

Following quick singles wins from Barnwell and Dunkle, Samford (1-0) held a 3-1 advantage in the match. The Bison then tallied victories on courts No. 5 and No. 6 to even the score at 3-3 heading into Costa's decisive triumph.

Samford earned two wins in doubles play to grab the all-important doubles point.

In the opening portion of Sunday's match, the Bulldogs' combination of Alexander Sajonz and Dunkle tallied an 8-6 win on court No. 1, while Samford's duo comprised of Ryan Shidler and Barnwell clinched the doubles point with an 8-3 victory in the No. 2 doubles contest.

"I think the doubles point was very key today," Esmail said. "Zac and Alex did a great job of turning things around at No. 1 by picking up their energy level and finding a way to win. That was definitely the difference in that match.

The Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action Saturday at 1 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs travel to Atlanta for an early non-conference matchup with the Georgia State Panthers.