Final Results
Updated Samford Stats
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The 57th-ranked Samford University men's tennis team was defeated at home for only the second time of the 2013 season Sunday as the Bulldogs came up short in a hotly-contested Southern Conference matchup against the Elon Phoenix held at the Samford Tennis Center.
“This was one of the highest quality college tennis matches that I have seen in a while,” said Samford head coach
Rahim Esmail. “Both teams competed extremely hard and I give Elon a lot of credit in pulling this match out. They are a very good team that is very well coached and we knew going in that this match was going to be a battle.”
With the loss,
Samford (7-7, 2-1 SoCon) suffered its first defeat at home in three weeks. The Bulldogs' most recent setback at the Samford Tennis Center was a 5-1 decision to the sixth-ranked Kentucky Wildcats on March 3. Since then, the Bulldogs tallied consecutive home victories against College of Charleston, Eastern Kentucky and UNCG.
Elon (12-4, 7-0 SoCon) continued its winning ways Sunday and remained undefeated in conference play this season. The Phoenix also extended its winning streak to seven-consecutive matches. Elon has not been defeated since falling at home to USC Upstate, 4-3, on March 9.
The doubles point came down to the final match Sunday as both the Bulldogs and Phoenix came out of the gates swinging.
Samford's doubles tandem comprised of
Elliot Barnwell and
Austin Akers cruised to an 8-1 victory on court No. 2, while Elon's pairing of Stefan Fortmann and Cameron Silverman tallied a 9-7 win over the Bulldogs' No. 52-ranked duo of
Zac Dunkle and
Garrison Laduca on court No. 1. With its triumph in the No. 2 singles contest, Samford's Barnwell and Akers improved to 4-3 in doubles play this season.
The Phoenix's No. 3 doubles team of Juan Madrid and Jordan Kaufman helped Elon clinch the all-important doubles point Sunday with a 9-8 (6) victory over Samford's
Alex Sajonz and
Fares Kilani.
“We were ready to compete today and we came up a little short,” Esmail said. “We had many opportunities throughout the match on certain courts, but were unable to capitalize on these opportunities today. We let some chances slip and we need to work harder in practice on certain aspects in order to capitalize on these chances next time.”
Despite falling behind 1-0, the Bulldogs rallied for a pair of wins in singles play on courts No. 1 and No. 5.
Dunkle, Samford's talented senior from Atlanta, came from behind to defeat the Phoenix's Silverman, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, in the No. 1 singles contest. With the victory, Dunkle improved to 6-6 on court No. 1 this season.
The Bulldogs' Akers, who owns the team's best singles record in 2013 with a mark of 9-4, outlasted Elon's Brian Kowalski, 1-6, 7-5, 1-0 (5) on court No. 5 to tally Samford's second point of the match.
The Phoenix held on for singles wins on courts No. 2, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 6 on Sunday to garner the 5-2 team victory. Three of Elon's victories came down to the final set as all six singles matches were competitive.
“Overall, I am pleased with the way we competed out there today,” said Esmail. “If we continue to compete that way, we will continue to be successful. We are looking forward to getting back to work this week and preparing for our conference matches this upcoming weekend.”
The Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action Friday at 1:30 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs begin a momentous two-match road trip against the Davidson Wildcats in a key league contest to be held in Davidson, N.C.
Final Results
Updated Samford Stats
