BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- In its final contest before the beginning of Southern Conference play, the Samford University men's tennis team will square off against in-state rival Jacksonville State on Wednesday at 1 p.m. (CST), as the Bulldogs welcome the Gamecocks to the Samford Tennis Center for a key early-season matchup.
 
Samford (1-5) heads into Wednesday's meeting with aspirations of snapped a five-match losing streak, which featured hard-fought contests against four nationally-ranked opponents.
 
On Jan. 20, the Bulldogs opened their spring campaign with a dominant 5-1 home victory over Mercer. Since then, Samford has dropped nonconference matchups against No. 56 Indiana, No. 46 Elon, No. 9 Mississippi State, UTSA and No. 73 Tulane.
 
In Sunday's home loss to Tulane, the Bulldogs suffered a 6-1 setback against Green Wave in a Southern Region contest held at the Samford Tennis Center. Tulane escaped with the all-important doubles point by hanging on for victories on courts No. 1 and No. 2.
 
The Bulldogs' tandem of Fares Kilani and Austin Akers tallied a quick 8-3 triumph in the No. 3 doubles contest, but then Tulane's combinations on No. 1 and No. 2 earned close victories of 8-6 and 8-4, respectively.
 
In singles play, the Green Wave was able to record wins on five of the six courts to give Tulane its final 6-1 victory.
 
Samford's victory in singles play occurred on court No. 3 as Akers outlasted the Green Wave's Jao Chi-Shan, 6-4, 4-6, 10-8. With the triumph, the Bulldogs' junior from Lexington, Ky., improved to 2-3 in singles play this season.
 
Jacksonville State (3-3) heads into Wednesday's contest riding the positive momentum of a three-match winning streak. Since opening the season with consecutive losses against No. 28 Auburn, Southern Miss and South Alabama, the Gamecocks have rattled off straights triumphs over Alabama State, Kennesaw State and Florida A&M.
 
In Sunday's decisive 6-1 victory over Florida A&M, Jacksonville State claimed the doubles point after winning at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. The Gamecocks' tandem of freshman Jaryd Reese and junior Felipe Wenzel topped FAMU's team of Robert Ortiz and Carols Waitman, while JSU's freshman duo of Mathias Chaim and Dylan Gee turned in an 8-4 win over Jalen Evans and Courage Okungbowa.

The Gamecocks then carried the momentum from doubles into singles play by winning five of the six singles matches to claim their third-consecutive win.
 
Pedro Wagner started things off on court No. 1 with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Admire Mushonga. Reese then continued his stellar play with a straight-set win over Zack Evenden, 6-2, 6-4.  At No. 3, Gee ousted Ortiz, 6-3, 6-2, while Chaim and Felipe Diaz registered wins at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively.
 
Last season, Samford and Jacksonville State squared off at the Samford Tennis Center on Feb. 13, as the Bulldogs earned a 4-0 victory.
 
The teams started with the singles competition a year ago as Samford picked up straight-set victories from Zac Dunkle, 6-2, 7-5, Kilani, 6-0, 6-1, and Alex Sajonz, 6-1, 6-3. The Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead and then received the clinching win on court No. 2 as Elliot Barnwell topped the Gamecocks' Igor Santos in three sets, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
 
Following Wednesday's nonconference contest against Jacksonville State, the Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action March 2, as the Bulldogs begin SoCon play at home against the Appalachian State Mountaineers in a critical league showdown slated to be played at the Samford Tennis Center.