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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The nationally-ranked Samford University men's tennis team opened its 2014 spring dual-match season in impressive fashion Monday as the Bulldogs earned a 5-1 non-conference victory against the Mercer Bears held at the Samford Tennis Complex.
 
"Overall, I'm pleased with the way that we competed today to start the season," said Samford head coach Rahim Esmail. "Each player can take a positive away from today to build on and get better with. Mercer is a tough team and we started off strong in doubles and on the first three singles courts, which helped us a lot with the momentum of the match."
 
Samford (1-0), the No. 63-ranked team in the nation, jumped out to an early 1-0 lead over Mercer (1-6) on Monday by winning the all-important doubles point.
 
On court No. 1, the Bulldogs' pairing of Elliot Barnwell and Trey Carter held off the Bears' feisty combination of Oliver Snaider and Austin Emmet, 6-5 (3). Samford also won in the No. 2 doubles competition and clinched the match-opening point with a key victory from Liam Sullivan and Henry Moore, 6-4.
 
"Playing this new scoring format, it's very important to get off to a good start in doubles," Esmail said. "I was pleased to see how the two freshmen competed in doubles. Trey played excellent today and it was one of the more convincing days of tennis that I have seen him play. Elliot did a great job of getting himself back into his match mentally, and did well to close it out in the third set."
 
In singles play, the Bulldogs received straight-set wins from Fares Kilani, Austin Akers and Trey Carter, as well as a thrilling three-frame triumph from Barnwell on court No. 1, 5-6 (3), 6-4, 6-4, to claim the overall 5-1 team victory.
 
Kilani, Samford's energetic sophomore from Tunis, Tunisia, quickly dispatched of Mercer's Arnav Mohanty on court No. 2, 6-1, 6-3, while Akers dropped Anderson Scarpa, 6-1, 6-0, in the No. 3 singles contest. Additionally, Carter earned his straight-set victory on court No. 4, 6-3, 6-2, over Manuel de Luis.
 
Mercer, a solid team and the Bulldogs' future Southern Conference rival, dropped to 1-6 this season, but five of the Bears' six losses have come against teams ranked amongst the nation's top 75.
 
The 63^rd-ranked Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action Friday at the prestigious ITA Kick-Off Weekend, which will be held on the campus of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va.
 
The annual event features some of the elite teams in the nation and is slated to be held Jan. 24-26. Samford will open the three-day competition against No. 56-ranked Indiana on Friday at 1 p.m. (CT) and will then face either No. 1-ranked Virginia or No. 64-ranked Elon in the second round of action.
 
"We are looking forward to getting back to work this week, as well as the opportunity that we have this upcoming weekend to compete at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend," said Esmail. "It is a privilege to be a part of this event and we are all excited for the challenge."

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