Feb. 8, 2012
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -
The Samford University men's tennis team will compete in its first road match of the 2012 season Thursday as the Bulldogs square off against the Troy Trojans in a highly anticipated in-state contest slated to begin at 2:30 p.m. (CST) at the Lunsford Tennis Complex in Troy.
Samford (2-0) heads into the showdown boasting a two-match winning streak with home victories against Lipscomb 4-3 and USC Upstate 5-2.
In Sunday's win against USC Upstate, the Bulldogs jumped out to an early 1-0 lead by sweeping all three doubles matches. Samford's duo comprised of Zac Dunkle and Alexander Sajonz tallied an 8-5 victory on court No. 1, while the Bulldogs' Elliot Barnwell and Ryan Shidler fought to a 9-7 win in the No. 2 doubles showdown.
On court No. 3, Samford's Carson Kadi and Fernando Costa cruised to an 8-2 doubles triumph against USC Upstate's combination of Ramiro Blanco and Matthias Kidler.
The Bulldogs recorded four victories in singles play Sunday, with a trio coming in hard-fought, three-set battles. On court No. 2, Samford's 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, the Bulldogs' talented sophomore from Mancetter, United Kingdom, clinched Samford's overall 5-2 victory on court No. 3 with an epic 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-3 win against the Spartans' Yvon Haessig.
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.
Troy (0-2) hasn't been in action since Jan. 21 when the Trojans fell to No.21-ranked Auburn, 7-0. Troy's only other match of the season was a similar 7-0 loss at No.44-ranked Florida State on Jan. 16.
However, after just two matches throughout the course of the season's first three weeks, the Trojans will get their chances to improve their standing as they play three matches in the four days. After hosting the Bulldogs on Thursday, Troy will travel to take on Alabama on Saturday before hosting Kennesaw State on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Following Thursday's in-state showdown with Troy, the Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action Friday at 2 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs begin a critical two-match weekend homestand against the UAB Blazers to be held at the Samford Tennis Center.
