BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University women's tennis team will conclude its two-match, season-opening homestand Friday at 4 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs welcome the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders to the Samford Tennis Center for a key early-season nonconference contest.
 
Samford (1-0) heads into the match riding a wave of positive momentum after the Bulldogs breezed to a 2014-opening 7-0 win over Kennesaw State on Saturday.
 
With the triumph, Samford head coach David Vest reached the impressive 200-win plateau for his career. Vest, who is in the midst of his sixth season at Samford, improved his all-time coaching record to 200-135, as well as an 88-51 mark as a Bulldog.
 
Against Kennesaw State, Samford swept the doubles competition and garnered an early 1-0 lead. The Bulldogs then received quick straight-set singles wins from Kristin Lewis, No. 72-ranked Stephanie N'tcha, Yasmeen Ebada, Jessica Northcutt and Lauren Caballero to tally the 7-0 victory.
 
Middle Tennessee (1-0) also opened its 2014 spring campaign with a home win Saturday as the Blue Raiders topped Evansville, 4-3.
 
Middle Tennessee easily claimed the doubles point Saturday before winning three of the first four singles points to claim the victory. The Blue Raiders' trio of Nayara Moraes, Flavia Nagayama and Tiffany William went undefeated against the Purple Aces.
 
Nagayama and Sarah Sediri swept Evansville's Marina Moreno and Mina Milovic 6-0 at No. 3 doubles to win the first of two required points. Middle Tennessee claimed the doubles point when the tandem of Irina Constantinide and Moraes won 7-5 over Kelsey Costales and Andjela Brquljan. The Blue Raiders' William and Jesse Grace won the No. 1 doubles match 7-5 over Natasha James/Marketa Trousilova.
 
In singles action, Nagayama won 6-3, 6-1 over Brquljan at the No. 4 spot. William won a straight-set 6-2, 6-4 over James in the top singles match. Evansville won the first point of the evening when Trousilova knocked off Grace 6-3, 7-5.
 
Moraes helped the Blue Raiders clinch the victory with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Moreno. The Purple Aces bounced back as Costales defeated Constantinide (6-3, 6-3) at No. 5 and Milovic won (4-6, 6-3, 10-2) over Sediri.
 
Last season, Samford and Middle Tennessee squared off in Murfreesboro, Tenn., as the Bulldogs suffered a heartbreaking 4-3 defeat.
 
At the Buck Bouldin Tennis Center on April 10, 2013, Samford won the doubles point, but fell short in singles matches on courts No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 5 in the 4-3 road defeat. The Blue Raiders clinched the nonconference win at No. 5 singles where Carla Nava rallied for a 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Samford's Mallory.
 
Samford jumped out to an early 1-0 lead over Middle Tennessee last season by posting doubles triumphs on courts No. 1 and No. 3.
 
In the No. 1 doubles contest, the Bulldogs' tandem comprised of Lewis and Mallory earned an 8-4 victory over their Blue Raider counterparts, while Samford's No. 3 pairing of Moolman and Adri Lochner notched a similar 8-4 win over Middle Tennessee's Alexandra Torres and Nava.
 
The Bulldogs secured the all-important doubles point, but quickly found themselves in a 2-1 hole in singles play as the Blue Raiders posted straight-set wins on courts No. 3 and No. 1.
 
Despite Middle Tennessee's early rally in singles, Samford bounced back with wins of its own from Moolman and AnnMarie Lyon to take a 3-2 advantage. Moolman, the Bulldogs' true freshman native of Aranos, Namibia, earned a come-from-behind 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 triumph over the Blue Raiders' Nayara Moraes on court No. 4, while Lyon defeated Torres, 6-3, 7-6(2), on court No. 6.
 
Middle Tennessee rallied for the late 4-3 victory with singles wins on courts No. 2 and No. 5 from Yuiri Nomoto and Nava, respectively.
 
Following Friday's home contest against Middle Tennessee, the Samford University women's tennis team will next be in action Feb. 8 at 5 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs square off against the No. 21-ranked Auburn Tigers at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn.