'Dogs Earn Championship Titles At Steve Baras Classic

Sunday, September 29

Chattanooga, Tenn.

All Day

Samford University

UTC Fall Invite

Junior Austin Akers teamed with Fares Kilani to win the championship title of the Flight 2 bracket.

'Dogs Earn Championship Titles At Steve Baras Classic

9.29.13 | Men's Tennis

The Bulldogs’ Sullivan finishes the weekend with an unblemished 4-0 record

Final Results

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- The Samford University men's tennis team concluded play in the 31^st Annual UTC Steve Baras Fall Classic on Sunday and collected championship titles in both singles and doubles play at the talent-laden three-day tournament held at the Champions Club.

Samford's Liam Sullivan earned the championship title of the Flight 4 singles bracket, while the Bulldogs' doubles tandem comprised of sophomore Fares Kilani and junior Austin Akers took the tournament title in the Flight 2 doubles competition.

"Overall, we had a very productive weekend," said Samford head coach Rahim Esmail. "We are definitely able to leave this weekend, being our first fall event, with many positives and many things that we can build on."

In the Flight 4 singles bracket, Samford's Sullivan squared off against his Bulldog teammate Trey Carter for the championship title and earned a 6-2, 6-2, victory in the matchup. Sullivan, Samford's highly-touted true freshman from Richmond, Va., concluded the 31^st Annual UTC Steve Baras Fall Classic with a brilliant 4-0 record.

Carter, the Bulldogs' talented sophomore transfer from NC State, finished the weekend with a near-perfect 3-1 mark.

In the Flight 3 singles championship, Lipscomb's Rob Mitchell defeated Samford's Garrison Laduca, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, for the bracket title. Laduca, the Bulldogs' senior native of Woodstock, Ga., finished the tournament with a 3-1 record.

"We did not lose a match all weekend where we did not have chances to win," Esmail said. "We put ourselves in a good position all weekend and this is something that is going to help us continue to improve. We continue to stress 'The Process' of getting better week in and week out, and I definitely feel that we made positive strides this weekend towards becoming a better team."

In doubles play, the Bulldogs' Kilani and Akers earned the championship title of the Flight 2 bracket by defeating East Tennessee State's combination of Joao Silva and Conner Huertas, 9-8.

The Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action Oct. 10-13, as the Bulldogs head to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for the 2013 USTA/ITA Southern Regionals to be held at the University of Alabama Tennis Center.

Final Results