Samford Media Guide

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University men's tennis team will look to extend its winning streak to three-consecutive matches Wednesday as the Bulldogs welcome Southern Conference-rival Chattanooga to the Samford Tennis Center for a 2 p.m. (CDT) showdown.
 
Samford (9-7, 4-1 SoCon) heads into the contest as the second-place team in the conference. The Bulldogs are in the midst of a two-match SoCon winning streak and only trail first-place Elon (6-0 SoCon) by a game and a half in the league standings.
 
Since losing at home to Elon, 5-2, in a hard-fought match held March 24, Samford has reeled off consecutive road triumphs against Davidson, 7-0, and Appalachian State, 4-3.
 
In their key victory at Appalachian State on Saturday, the Bulldogs lost the doubles point, but received all-important singles victories from Zac Dunkle, Elliot Barnwell, Alex Sajonz and Garrison Laduca.
 
Laduca, Samford's junior from Woodstock, Ga., clinched the Bulldogs' victory at 4-2 with a 7-5, 6-3 triumph in the No. 6 singles contest. With his second straight win, Laduca improved his singles record to 8-7 this season.
 
Samford's Dunkle extended his winning streak to three-consecutive matches in singles play as the Bulldogs' senior native of Atlanta posted a 6-4, 6-2 triumph over Appalachian State's Sebastien King on court No. 1. Dunkle moved to 8-6 on the season with his victory.
 
Samford's Barnwell and Sajonz both tallied straight-set wins over their Mountaineer counterparts Saturday. Barnwell improved to 9-7 on the season, while Sajonz moved to 8-8 this year.
 
Chattanooga (8-7, 3-3 SoCon) enters Wednesday's matchup with a full head of steam after rolling to a 5-2 victory at Wofford on Saturday. The Mocs' win snapped a two-match losing streak in which they dropped back-to-back contests against SoCon-foes Elon, 5-2, and Furman, 6-1.
 
In its key win against Wofford, Chattanooga took the doubles point and four singles matches to tally the 5-2 triumph.
 
The Mocs' senior Chris Smith and freshman John Peacey teamed up for the first time and scored an 8-1 win over Tom Wood and David Sklar at No. 2 doubles, while seniors Manuel Barroetavena and Jackson Tresnan posted their sixth straight win with an 8-6 victory over Walker Heffron and Graham Duncan at No. 3.
 
In singles play, Tresnan moved up to the No. 4 position for just the third time this spring and responded with a quick 6-0, 6-1 win over Graham Duncan. Peacey then gave Chattanooga a 3-0 lead with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Parks Thompson on court No. 6.
 
Wofford cut the lead to 3-2 with wins at courts No. 1 and No. 5. Chattanooga senior Ankit Chopra later clinched the match with a three-set win over Jackson Keith at No. 3. The Mocs' Barroetavena then closed out the match with his fourth straight win on court No. 2.
 
In last season's annual showdown between Samford and Chattanooga, the Bulldogs posted a critical 5-2 road triumph against the Mocs in a regular-season finale held at the UTC Tennis Courts.
 
Samford earned last year's doubles point by winning on courts Nos. 1 and 3. The Bulldogs' tandem of Dunkle and Sajonz tallied an 8-4 victory in the No. 1 doubles contest, while Fernando Costa and Carson Kadi cruised to an 8-2 triumph over the Mocs' Stephen Crofford and Pavels Grigorjevs, 8-2, on court No. 3.
 
The Bulldogs later earned singles wins on courts Nos. 1, 3, 5 and 6 to secure their 5-2 team triumph over Chattanooga. The victory was clinched in the No. 1 singles contest as Samford's Dunkle earned a key 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 win over the Mocs' Roberto Vieira.
 
Samford's lone straight-set victory occurred at the No. 5 singles position where Sajonz defeated Chattanooga's Jackson Tresnan, 6-3, 7-5.
 
The two most critical singles victories for the Bulldogs came from Barnwell on court No. 3 and LaDuca on court No. 6. In a pair of must-have three-set matches, Barnwell outlasted Chris Smith, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, while LaDuca tallied a dramatic 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(5) triumph in the No. 6 singles contest.
 
Following Wednesday's rivalry match against Chattanooga, the Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action Saturday at 12:30 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs begin a three-match road swing against the Wofford Terriers to be held in Spartanburg, S.C.

Samford Media Guide