March 16, 2012

Results

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University men's tennis team extended its winning streak to six-consecutive matches Friday as the Bulldogs posted a 5-2 Southern Conference victory over the Furman Paladins in the third contest of their current four-match homestand being held at the Samford Tennis Center.

"We did a great job today at getting off to a good start," said Samford head coach Rahim Esmail. "We played a dictating doubles point with a lot of energy, and we were able to carry that into the singles. We played with a lot of energy today which made a big difference. Furman is a good team, and made us earn everything on each court. We did a good job today capitalizing on our opportunities."

Samford (9-2, 3-0 SoCon) swept the doubles point with a trio of 8-4 victories and garnered an early 1-0 lead in Friday's match.

With its victory on court No. 3 over the Paladins' duo of Watson George and Nate Collins, the Bulldogs' doubles tandem comprised of Fernando Costa and Carson Kadi improved to 8-3 on the season. Samford's pairing of Costa and Kadi has been victorious in six-consecutive matches, a streak that coincides with the team's current winning streak.

The Bulldogs' No. 1 doubles team of Zac Dunkle and Alexander Sajonz improved its record on the season to 7-4 by defeating Furman's (3-10, 0-1 SoCon) pair of Alex Christ and Joel Cook.

After winning the doubles point, Samford quickly received straight-set singles wins from Dunkle, Kadi and Elliot Barnwell. In a highly-anticipated matchup on court No. 1, the Bulldogs' Dunkle knocked off the nation's 110-ranked player, Andrew Mellow, 6-3, 7-5. With the victory, Dunkle improved to 9-2 in singles play this season and tallied Samford's first win over a ranked opponent this year.

The Bulldogs' Barnwell and Kadi both improved their identical winning streaks in singles play to five matches Friday.

On court No. 2, Samford's Kadi earned a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Furman's Christ, while Barnwell improved his team-best singles record to 10-1 this season with a 6-4, 6-3 triumph over the Paladins' Jacob Behal in the No. 3 contest.

The Bulldogs' fifth point came on court No. 5 as Sajonz outlasted Furman's Robbie Aru in a three-set victory, 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (2). With the victory, Sajonz moved to 6-4 in singles play this season.

The Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action Saturday at 10 a.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs welcome the Georgia Southern Eagles to the Samford Tennis Center for yet another critical SoCon matchup.