BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University women's tennis team will return home to the Samford Tennis Center for a three-match homestand beginning Saturday as the Bulldogs square off against the UTSA Roadrunners at noon (CST).
 
Samford (2-1) heads into the contest looking to bounce back from its first loss of the 2014 dual-match season Sunday as the Bulldogs dropped a 4-0 road decision to the 21^st-ranked Auburn Tigers.
 
Samford hung tough with Auburn on a number of courts in both singles and doubles play, but the match was called as soon as the Tigers reached the decisive four-point mark.
 
The Bulldogs' No. 3 doubles pairing of Yasmeen Ebada and Jessica Northcutt nearly knocked off Auburn's tandem comprised of Jackie Kasler and Jen Pfeifler, but the Tiger duo rallied back to earn a slight 8-7 win.
 
In singles play, Samford's No. 72-ranked Stephanie N'tcha and Ebada were both leading their Auburn counterparts in the second set of action. The Tigers' singles wins occurred on courts No. 2, No. 4 and No. 6.
 
Sunday's loss proved to be Samford's first setback of the 2014 campaign. The Bulldogs entered their match against Auburn having cruised past Kennesaw State, 7-0, and Middle Tennessee, 6-1, to open the season.
 
UTSA (3-4) racked up two wins last weekend with sweeps against both Incarnate Word and Louisiana-Lafayette. The Roadrunners ran the table without dropping a set the entire weekend and they now have won three of their past four contests after starting the spring with three straight setbacks.
 
UTSA's Isabelle Jonsson and Irene Gandara Gonzalez both have won four-consecutive singles matches, while Jonsson has teamed up with Lina Hallgren for four straight wins at No. 3 doubles.
 
The Samford University women's tennis team will next be in action Wednesday at 1 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs continue their three-match nonconference homestand against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks in an in-state rivalry showdown to be held at the Samford Tennis Center.