Samford Media Guide

DAVIDSON, N.C. – The Samford University men's tennis team will begin play in a momentous two-match Southern Conference road trip Friday at 1:30 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs meet the Davidson Wildcats in a critical league contest to be held at the Covington Tennis Courts.
 
Samford (7-7, 2-1 SoCon) enters Friday's match with hopes of bouncing back from a hard-fought 5-2 home loss to Elon on Sunday. The Bulldogs' setback was only the second time of the 2013 season that Samford lost at home in Birmingham, Ala.
 
With the loss, Samford 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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
Davidson (10-6, 4-3 SoCon) heads into Friday's contest riding the positive momentum of a two-match winning streak. Since losing a trio of matchups against College of Charleston, 4-3, Elon, 6-1, and Appalachian State, 7-0, the Wildcats have rattled off back-to-back victories over Georgia Southern, 5-2, and Wofford, 4-3.
 
In Tuesday's 4-3 SoCon triumph over Wofford, Davidson's Connor Evins clinched the winning point with his 6-4, 6-2 singles victory as the Wildcats sealed up their second league win in a row.
 
With Davidson leading the Terriers, 3-1, Evins netted his eighth win of the season by defeating Tom Wood at No. 5 singles. The Wildcats' junior earlier teamed with Nicky Kunz to seal up the doubles point by scoring a 9-7 victory at No. 3.
 
Davidson's Joe Schaffer also went 2-0 on the day, teaming with Ethan Kallick to win the first doubles match of the afternoon, 8-5, at No. 2. The senior then cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 victory at No. 2 singles, running his record to a team-best 9-6 (4-3 SoCon).
 
The Wildcats' Chris Mark moved to 6-7 in singles action with a solid 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 3.
 
Last season, in the annual meeting between Samford and Davidson in SoCon play, the Bulldogs earned a 5-2 victory at home in Birmingham, Ala.
 
Samford swept the doubles point last year and took an early 1-0 lead in the contest. The Bulldogs earned four victories in the singles competition, all of which occurred in three sets. Samford's Fernando Costa, LaDuca and Carson Kadi all rebounded to win their matches after dropping the first set.
 
Alex Sajonz, the Bulldogs' talented native of Kungsbacka, Sweden, outlasted Davidson's Robert Lightbourn, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, on court No. 5.
 
Another key victory for Samford occurred at the No. 6 singles matchup where LaDuca dropped the first set, 6-4, but then bounced back with a clutch 7-6 (7) triumph in the second frame. The Bulldogs' sophomore from Woodstock, Ga., then earned a decisive 6-1 victory in the third set.
 
Following Friday's SoCon matchup at Davidson, the Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action Saturday at noon (CDT) as the Bulldogs square off against the Appalachian State Wildcats in a key league contest to be held in Boone, N.C.

Samford Media Guide