Samford Media Guide

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University men's tennis team will square off against its fourth-consecutive in-state rival Thursday as the Bulldogs welcome the Troy Trojans to the Samford Tennis Center for a 2 p.m. (CST) nonconference showdown.
 
Samford (3-2) heads into the contest looking to bounce back from a 4-3 road loss to UAB on Friday. In an intense, cross-town rivalry match held at George Ward Park, the Bulldogs nearly charged back to defeat the Blazers in a thrilling contest that came down to the final tiebreaker.
 
Samford's Zac Dunkle almost pulled off the come-from-behind victory, but UAB eventually hung on for the 4-3 win.
 
With the overall score of Friday's match knotted at 3-3, all attention shifted to court No. 1 where Samford's Dunkle battled in the third set with the Blazers' David Zimmerman. Zimmerman opened the third frame with a 5-2 advantage, but Dunkle battled back to even the score at 6-6 and send the contest to a tiebreaker.
 
UAB's Zimmerman, with the overall team match on the line, took advantage of the Blazers' home crowd to hold on for the slight 7-6 victory.
 
With Friday's heartbreaking 4-3 loss, Samford moved to 1-2 in road matches this season. The Bulldogs opened their road schedule with a 5-2 setback at No. 59-ranked Georgia State on Feb. 3, but then bounced back to register a historic 4-3 victory at No. 45 Alabama on Feb. 6.
 
Samford owns a 2-1 record against in-state opponents this season. Along with the Bulldogs' record-setting victory at Alabama, Samford has also topped Jacksonville State, 4-0.
 
Troy (1-5) enters Thursday's contest with aspirations of snapping a five-match losing streak. Since opening their 2013 spring campaign with a 4-3 victory at Presbyterian College on Jan. 18, the Trojans have been defeated in consecutive meetings with No. 42 UNC Wilmington, 7-0, No. 21 Auburn, 6-1, Florida Gulf Coast, 5-2, Florida Atlantic, 4-3, and Southern Miss, 5-2.
 
On Saturday, Troy opened its home schedule with a loss to Southern Miss held at the Lunsford Tennis Complex. The Trojans reworked the top of their lineup against the Golden Eagles and saw mixed results on the day, beginning with doubles play.

Troy's Mansingh Athare and Sami Ghorbel, playing together for the first time this year, took the first spot in the lineup. They faced the 60^th-ranked doubles team in the nation in Andrew Goodwin and Matt Frost. Troy's Athare and Ghorbel ultimately fell, but hung with the ranked Golden Eagles, 8-5.

Troy also dropped a decision at No. 2 doubles, clinching the opening point for Southern Miss.

In singles play, Troy's Anas Rouchdi moved into the top spot for the first time this season and dominated Frost in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2. Troy also won at No. 5 singles where Ghorbel continued to impress, this time in a straight-set win over Vasco Valverde, 6-0, 6-3.  Ghorbel owns a 5-1 record on the season in singles play, all on court No. 5. 

However, Troy lost the remaining four singles matches, three of them in straight sets. The Trojans' Athare played in the most exciting match of the day, but fell at third singles, 6-7, 7-5, 10-8.
 
Last season, Samford squared off with the Trojans in Troy and registered a key 4-3 road victory. In the Bulldogs' win, they earned doubles wins on courts No. 1 and No. 3 to take an all-important 1-0 lead in the match.
 
Samford's No. 1 doubles combination Dunkle and Alex Sajonz tallied an 8-3 victory over the Trojans' duo comprised of Patrick Eichler and Ghorbel, 8-3, while the Bulldogs clinched the point in the No. 3 doubles contest with an 8-4 triumph from senior Carson Kadi and teammate Fernando Costa.
 
In singles play, Troy quickly bounced back with wins on courts No. 6 and No. 5 to take a 2-1 advantage in the match.
 
The Trojans' lead would prove to be short-lived as Samford rallied back to win the next three singles matches and clinched a 4-2 overall victory. Troy's Rouchdi would later tally a win on court No. 1 to make the final score of the night, 4-3.
 
The Bulldogs' key singles triumphs were registered by Elliot Barnwell on court No. 3, 7-5, 6-2, Costa on court No. 4, 7-5, 6-2, and Dunkle in a critical three-set victory over Troy's Ghorbel in the No. 2 singles duel.
 
Following Thursday's home contest against Troy, the Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action Saturday at 11 a.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs travel to Starkville, Miss., for a key nonconference matchup versus the 11^th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs to be held at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.

Samford Media Guide