Final Results

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University men's tennis team remained undefeated at home this season Saturday as the Bulldogs posted a lopsided 5-1 triumph over the Troy Trojans in a nonconference matchup held at the Samford Tennis Center. Samford owns a perfect 3-0 record in home matches this season.
 
“Overall, we played a very solid match today,” said Samford head coach Rahim Esmail. “Troy University is a very good team that makes you earn and work for each point that you get. We got off to a great start in the doubles and did a good job of finishing today on all three doubles courts. I was pleased to see us close out the doubles on all three courts.”
 
Samford (4-2) swept Thursday's doubles competition and then added four singles victories from Elliot Barnwell, Fares Kilani, Austin Akers and Alex Sajonz to record the 5-1 in-state triumph.
 
With the defeat, Troy (1-6) had its losing streak extended to six-consecutive matches. The Trojans' lone win of season came against Presbyterian College, 4-3, on Jan. 18. Since then, Troy has been defeated in consecutive meetings by No. 42 UNC Wilmington, 7-0, No. 21 Auburn, 6-1, Florida Gulf Coast, 5-2, Florida Atlantic, 4-3, Southern Miss, 5-2, and Samford, 5-1.
 
The Bulldogs' singles victories from Barnwell, Akers and Sajonz were all tallied in straight sets. Kilani, Samford's talented true freshman from Tunis, Tunisia, outlasted Troy's Daniel Bustamante on court No. 3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
 
“We did a great job today in carrying the momentum from the doubles point to singles play,” Esmail said. “We won first sets on all six courts and that really helped us take control of the match. We did a great job of closing things out quickly on courts No. 2 and No. 5, to get us to three quick points. Akers did a tremendous job closing things out on court No. 4 for us. This was a very good win for us today and we should be very pleased with the forward progress that we are making.”
 
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.

Final Results