Samford University
USC Upstate
Bulldogs Roll To 5-2 Victory Over USC Upstate
2.5.12 | Men's Tennis
Feb. 5, 2012
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University men's tennis team registered a 5-2 non-conference victory against the USC Upstate Spartans on Sunday in an early-season contest held at the Samford Tennis Center.
"We came out today ready to play," said Samford head coach Rahim Esmail. "The team did a great job in the doubles point across the board. We really implemented the things that we have been focusing and working on this week, and it paid off. A lot of credit goes to USC Upstate, as the final score was not indicative of how close the match was."
Samford (2-0) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in Sunday's contest by sweeping all three doubles matches. The Bulldogs' duo comprised of Zac Dunkle and Alexander Sajonz tallied an 8-5 victory on court No. 1, while Samford's Elliot Barnwell and Ryan Shidler fought to a 9-7 win in the No. 2 doubles showdown.
On court No. 3, the Bulldogs' Carson Kadi and Fernando Costa cruised to an 8-2 doubles triumph against USC Upstate's combination of Ramiro Blanco and Matthias Kidler.
Samford recorded four victories in singles play Sunday, with a trio coming in hard-fought, three-set battles. On court No. 2, the Bulldogs' Dunkle outlasted the Spartans' Kidler, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, while Sajonz fought from behind for a 3-6, 7-4 (4), 1-0 (9) triumph over Tyler Grove in the No. 5 singles matchup.
Barnwell, Samford's talented sophomore from Mancetter, United Kingdom, clinched the Bulldogs' victory on court No. 3 with an epic 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-3 win against the Spartans' Yvon Haessig.
"USC Upstate played a great match and conducted themselves very well," Esmail said. "Elliot was able to dig deep, and did a tremendous job of gutting out that match and getting that important fourth point for us."
In the first result of singles play, Samford's Costa breezed to a 6-1, 6-2 victory against Gonzalo Blanco on court No. 4. With the win, the Bulldogs' sophomore from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, improved to 2-0 in singles play this season.
"A lot of credit goes to the play of Zac and Fernando, as Fernando took care of business from the first point, and Zac was able to pick up his level and play a dominating third set," said Esmail. "We made some great strides today and got a lot better this week as a team."
USC Upstate (1-2) dropped its second straight contest Sunday. On Saturday, the Spartans were defeated by UAB, 5-1.
The Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs compete in their first road match of the season against the Troy Trojans in Troy, Ala.
