Bulldogs Fall To #27 Harvard In NCAA Tournament, 4-0

Friday, May 10

Starkville, Miss.

11 a.m. (Indoors)

Samford University

#27 Harvard (NCAA Tournament)

Four-time All-SoCon honoree, Zac Dunkle, closed out his senior season Friday as one of the most decorated tennis players in Samford history.

Bulldogs Fall To #27 Harvard In NCAA Tournament, 4-0

5.10.13 | Men's Tennis

Samford concludes its 2013 campaign with a 15-10 overall record

Final Results

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Samford's 2013 NCAA Tournament run came to an end in men's tennis Friday as the Southern Conference -champion Bulldogs suffered a 4-0 loss to the No. 27-ranked Harvard Crimson in the first round of play held indoors at McCarthy Gymnasium.

“You never want to see a season come to an end, but at this point, we can definitely reflect on the positives of this year, which we had a lot of,” said Samford head coach Rahim Esmail. “The guys did a great job today and they fought under some difficult circumstances. It was very tough to have to come indoors and play on two courts, but I thought they did as well as they could do in this position.”

The NCAA Tournament first-round match was forced indoors due to an early-morning rainstorm in the area. McCarthy Gymnasium only features two courts, therefore the teams started the competition in singles play, beginning with the No. 1 and No. 2 matchups.

Samford (15-10), ranked No. 62 in the nation, opened Friday's contest in strong fashion as junior Elliot Barnwell tallied a 6-2 first-set triumph over the Crimson's Shaun Chaudhuri on court No. 2. The Bulldogs' Zac Dunkle also looked poised to win the second set over Harvard's Denis Nguyen in the No. 1 singles battle.

“I thought we started the match great and we definitely started it better than we finished,” Esmail said. “Zac (Dunkle) and Elliot (Barnwell) both got off to great starts for us, and even though Zac lost the first set, he was up a break at 4-2 in the second set and looked as if he was going to gain some more momentum. Elliot did a fantastic job in the first set, but then it seemed as if the wheels got off the track a little bit at that point.”

Ultimately, the Crimson's Chaudhuri rallied back for a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Barnwell on court No. 2, while Nguyen posted a 6-3, 6-4 win versus Dunkle at No. 1. Despite their losses, Samford's Barnwell and Dunkle finished their seasons with singles records of 15-9 and 12-9, respectively.

With its first-round win, Harvard (19-5) advanced to Saturday's regional final where the Crimson will square off against No. 10-ranked Mississippi State. On Friday, homestanding Mississippi State earned a 4-0 victory over Ohio Valley Conference-champion Austin Peay. Saturday's match is slated to begin at 1 p.m. (CDT) at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.

Samford had its four-match winning streak snapped Friday and suffered its first setback in nearly a month, dating back to a hard-fought 4-3 road loss to Georgia Southern on April 12.

The Bulldogs finished their conference season with a 7-3 league record and reeled off SoCon Tournament victories against Davidson, 4-1, College of Charleston, 4-1, and Elon, 4-3, to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament. It marked the second time in three years that Samford reached the prestigious postseason tournament.

After Harvard jumped out to its early 2-0 advantage Friday, the Crimson's Andy Nguyen gave his squad a 3-0 lead in the match by defeating Samford's Fares Kilani, 6-1, 6-2 on court No. 3. The loss snapped Kilani's eight-match winning streak in singles play as he finished his freshman campaign with a brilliant 18-7 record.

The clinching match of Friday's contest occurred at No. 4 singles where Harvard's Alex Steinroeder registered a 6-2, 6-2 victory over the Bulldogs' Alex Sajonz.

“I thought our guys did a good job of fighting and enjoying the opportunity and experience that they got today of competing in the NCAA Tournament,” said Esmail. “We had some great results this season. Beating Alabama for the first time in 52 years was huge and that was a great accomplishment for this program. I'm just extremely proud of guys in how they competed this year.”

Sajonz, Samford's senior native of Kungsbacka, Sweden, closed out his final season as a Bulldog with a solid 15-10 singles record. Sajonz' stellar play this year also included a team-best nine-match winning streak.

Dunkle, the Bulldogs' only other senior on the roster, closed out his dazzling four-year career with a 52-32 career record in singles play. Samford's vastly decorated native of Atlanta earned a historic four All-SoCon honors throughout his Bulldog tenure.

“These two seniors have had a huge impact on this season and especially this program,” Esmail said. “They've helped lead us to some key wins this year and they definitely had a huge impact on our lineup. They've both done a great job for Samford and for the men's tennis program.”

Despite Friday's loss in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, the Samford University men's tennis team made history this season by earning the first No. 3 regional seed of both school and SoCon record. The Bulldogs also garnered their highest ranking in program history (No. 57) and snapped a 31-match, 52-year losing streak versus in-state rival Alabama.

Samford's win over the Crimson Tide proved to be its first against a ranked opponent in the school's expansive tennis history. The Bulldogs also concluded the year ranked nationally (No. 62) for the first time.

“Overall, this was a great season for us,” Esmail said. “We've accomplished things this year that have never been achieved at Samford before. In my mind, we've also achieved things in this program a lot earlier than I initially expected. It's great to see this program progress and we're going to make sure that we build off this season and continue to get better.

“Every day we want to raise the bar. In everything that we do, we want to get better in each and every practice and in every match. Being a Samford Bulldog is important to us and how we represent our university and that goes even beyond all of the wins and losses and national rankings.”

Even with all of Samford's success in 2013, the future looks even brighter for Esmail's ever-improving Bulldogs. Next season, Samford will return the play of starters Austin Akers, Barnwell, Kilani and Garrison Laduca, and will also boast the talents of redshirt freshman Henry Moore, as well as a highly-touted recruiting class.

Final Results