April 9, 2012
Results
GREENSBORO, N.C. -
For a second time in as many days, the Samford University men's tennis team battled to a crucial third-set tiebreaker victory in singles play Saturday to earn a thrilling 4-3 road Southern Conference win against the UNCG Spartans. The pivotal SoCon matchup was held at the UNCG Tennis Complex.
"Today was another epic battle," said Samford head coach Rahim Esmail. "A lot of credit goes to UNCG, as they played a great match and made us earn everything today. I'm extremely proud of our guys, as they continued to dig deep every match and find ways to win. Their hard work and determination is paying off, and the results are showing."
With Saturday's nail-biting triumph, Samford (14-3, 8-1 SoCon) extended its winning streak to three-straight matches and proved to be victorious in 11 of its last 12 outings. The Bulldogs' only setback in nearly two months was a hard-fought 4-3 loss at first-place College of Charleston on March 23.
By defeating UNC Greensboro (9-11, 6-4 SoCon) on Saturday, Samford improved its road record in 2012 to 6-1. The Bulldogs only have one road match remaining this season as they are scheduled to close out their campaign with an April 13 contest at SoCon-rival Chattanooga.
In Saturday's pivotal win at UNC Greensboro, Samford won the doubles point and then received singles wins on courts Nos. 3, 5 and 6.
The Bulldogs played well at the bottom of the singles lineup as Alexander Sajonz and Garrison Laduca both won their matches on courts No. 5 and 6, respectively. Sajonz, who provided the late heroics for Samford over Elon on Friday, defeated UNCG's Cameron Smith in straight sets, 6-4, 6-0, in the No. 5 singles contest.
LaDuca, the Bulldogs' highly-touted sophomore from Woodstock, Ga., earned a key three-set victory Saturday by outlasting the Spartans' Jimmy Roueche, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, on court No. 6. With the win, Samford picked up its third team point of the SoCon contest.
"We played a very solid doubles point today, which is continuing to give us momentum going into the singles," said Esmail. "We played our best tennis of the year down low today. Elliot showed a lot of poise and maturity today in his match. He found a way to get back into the match and really picked up his energy level to do so. I'm extremely pleased at the way our team competed today and at the way they carried themselves."
With the overall score of the match knotted at 3-3, the final point of Saturday's duel came down to the No. 3 singles contest where Samford's Elliot Barnwell squared off against UNCG's C. Varapongsittikul. The counterparts split the opening two sets with 6-0 sides from each competitor. Varapongsittikul took the first frame, while Barnwell rebounded to win the second set.
In the decisive third frame, the Bulldogs' Barnwell faced match point before bouncing back to notch a thrilling 7-6(1) victory. With the win, Samford's sophomore from Mancetter, United Kingdom, improved to 15-2 in singles play this season and secured the Bulldogs' key 4-3 SoCon triumph over UNCG.
The Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action Wednesday at 6 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs close out their regular-season home schedule with an in-state duel against the Alabama Crimson Tide. Wednesday's Senior Night festivities will be held at the Samford Tennis Center.
