Feb. 15, 2012

Results

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Samford University men's tennis team remained undefeated on the road this season Wednesday as the Bulldogs tallied a 4-2 victory against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks in a non-conference matchup held at the JSU Tennis Courts.

"We are happy to get out of today with a win," said Samford head coach Rahim Esmail. "We found a way to scrap out the doubles point, which helped us get off to a good start in singles. Ryan Shidler has done a great job the last couple matches of consistently sticking to his game plan, and today it paid off."

With the win, Samford (4-2) bounced back from a tough-luck, two-match losing streak against Conference USA foes UAB, 4-3, and Southern Miss, 4-2, last week. The Bulldogs also improved to 2-0 when playing on the road this season. On Feb. 9, Samford earned a hard-fought 4-3 victory at Troy.

Jacksonville State (2-4) suffered its second straight home loss Wednesday. On Saturday, the Gamecocks were topped by Belmont, 6-1, at the JSU Tennis Courts.

In a hotly-contested doubles competition Wednesday, Samford rallied for wins on courts No. 2 and No. 3 to earn the early 1-0 advantage in the match.

The Bulldogs' No. 3 doubles combination of Fernando Costa and Carson Kadi cruised to an 8-2 victory over Jacksonville State's pairing of Joshua Bourke and Felipe Wenzel, while the Gamecocks' duo comprised of Nenad Marcec and Axel Sundberg held on for a 9-8 win on court No. 1.

In the decisive doubles contest held on court No. 2, Samford's tandem of Elliot Barnwell and Ryan Shidler registered a clutch 9-8 triumph over Jacksonville State's squad of Igor Santos and Felipe Watanabe. The Bulldogs' team of Barnwell and Shidler clinched the doubles point for Samford and improved its record on the season to 3-3 at the No. 2 position.

Samford increased its lead to 3-0 in singles play with quick straight-set victories from Zac Dunkle and Costa.

On court No. 1, Dunkle breezed to a 6-1 win in his first set against the Gamecocks' Sundberg before the Jacksonville State netter retired due to an injury. Dunkle, the reigning Southern Conference Player of the Week, improved to 5-1 in singles play this season and tallied his first victory of the year at the No. 1 position. Dunkle moved to 1-0 when competing on court No. 1.

Costa registered a dominating 6-0, 6-2 triumph in the No. 4 singles match Wednesday to improve to 5-1 in singles play this season.

Samford's match-clinching victory occurred on court No. 6 as Shidler rallied back to knock off Jacksonville State's Bourke, 2-6, 7-5, 6-2. Shidler's win secured the Bulldogs' 4-2 victory as he improved to 1-3 in dual-match play this year.

The Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action March 10 at 11 a.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs begin Southern Conference play at home against the Wofford Terriers. Samford's March 10 matchup will be held at the Samford Tennis Center.