Samford University
Eastern Kentucky
Bulldogs Make History With 5-2 Win At Eastern Kentucky
2.25.12 | Men's Tennis
Feb. 25, 2012
RICHMOND, Ky. - The Samford University men's tennis team handed the Eastern Kentucky Colonels its first home loss in over three years Saturday as the Bulldogs tallied a 5-2 non-conference victory against their former Ohio Valley Conference rivals at the Greg Adams Tennis Center.
"Today was an extremely competitive match," said Samford head coach Rahim Esmail. "Eastern Kentucky has a great team and a lot of credit goes to the way they fought and played today. We were really able to dig deep and find a way to win. We let some opportunities slip early but were able to find a way to turn things around. Our determination and hard work paid off today and won us this match."
With the win, Samford (5-2) improved to 3-0 in road matches this season and snapped Eastern Kentucky's (7-3) 38-match home winning streak, which dated back to Feb. 7, 2009. The Bulldogs' triumph also snapped the Colonels seven-match winning streak this season.
Samford garnered its second straight victory Saturday after the Bulldogs knocked off in-state rival Jacksonville State, 4-2, on Feb. 15.
In its historic win against Eastern Kentucky, Samford lost the doubles point, but then rallied for five singles victories from Carson Kadi, Elliot Barnwell, Fernando Costa, Alexander Sajonz and Ryan Shidler. Despite dropping the singles decision on court No. 1, the Bulldogs tallied wins on each of the bottom five courts of the competition.
Samford won all six tie-breakers, which included a super tie-breaker at No. 6 singles.
Kadi, Samford's senior from New Orleans, La., earned an 0-6, 7-6(4), 6-0 victory in the No. 2 singles matchup, while Barnwell outlasted Eastern Kentucky's Philip Janz in a three-set marathon on court No. 3, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 (5). With his key triumph, Barnwell improved to 6-1 in singles play this season.
Costa, the Bulldogs' sophomore from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, earned Samford's lone straight-set victory against the Colonels on Saturday. In the No. 4 singles contest, Costa rallied for a 7-6(3), 6-1 win against Eastern Kentucky's Parul Verma.
On courts No. 5 and 6, Samford received key victories from Sajonz and Shidler. The Bulldogs' Sajonz posted a 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 triumph in the No. 5 contest, while Shidler knocked off the Colonels' Emilio Piriz, 7-6 (3), 4-6, 10-6 in the No. 6 singles matchup.
"Carson and Alex both did a great job of turning things around in their matches and gutting out some important wins," Esmail said.
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.
