Feb. 24, 2012

RICHMOND, Ky. - The Samford University men's tennis team will begin a two-match weekend road trip against former Ohio Valley Conference rivals Saturday at 10 a.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs meet the Eastern Kentucky Colonels in a non-conference contest to be held at the Greg Adams Tennis Center.

Samford (4-2) heads into the match with a full head of steam after defeating in-state rival Jacksonville State on the road on Feb. 15. With the key victory, the Bulldogs improved to 2-0 when playing on the road this season. On Feb. 9, Samford earned a hard-fought 4-3 victory at Troy.

In a hotly-contested doubles competition at Jacksonville State, 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, 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 on Feb. 15 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.

Eastern Kentucky (7-2) enters Saturday's showdown boasting an undefeated record at home this season. The Colonels are in the midst of a seven-match winning streak and all seven victories have been held at the Greg Adams Tennis Center.

Already this season, Eastern Kentucky has posted home triumphs against University of the Cumberlands 6-1, Dayton 6-1, Abilene Christian 5-2, Cambellsville 7-0, Butler 5-2, Lindsey Wilson 6-1 and Northern Kentucky 5-2.

The Colonels only losses this season occurred as they opened the 2012 dual-match campaign with back-to-back defeats at No. 13-ranked Tennessee 6-1 and No. 7-ranked Kentucky 6-0.

Following Saturday's matchup at Eastern Kentucky, the Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action Sunday at 9 a.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs remain in Richmond for a neutral site contest against the Morehead State Eagles. The match will also be held at the Greg Adams Tennis Center.