BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University women's tennis team will conclude play in its current three-match homestand Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs welcome the UAB Blazers to the Samford Tennis Center for a cross-town rivalry contest.
 
Samford (4-1) is in the midst of a two-match winning streak and boasts a perfect 4-0 record when playing at home this season. Additionally, the Bulldogs have not been defeated at the Samford Tennis Center since March 23, 2013, when they lost to Furman in Southern Conference play.
 
On Feb. 19, Samford extended its home winning streak to six-consecutive matches as the Bulldogs posted a lopsided 7-0 triumph over the Jacksonville State Gamecocks in a nonconference in-state contest held at the Samford Tennis Center.
 
Samford swept all nine matches against Jacksonville State; three in doubles and six in singles play.
 
The closest matches of the day occurred at No. 1 doubles and No. 1 singles. In the No. 1 doubles contest, the Bulldogs' pairing of Kristin Lewis and Stephanie N'tcha held off the Gamecocks' combination of Raisa Guasti and Olivia Nguyen, 9-8(5).
 
In singles play, it was again Jacksonville State's Guasti, who nearly knocked off her Samford counterpart. On court No. 1, the Bulldogs' N'tcha rallied back for a hard-fought, three-set triumph over Guasti, 7-6(4), 5-7, 1-0.
 
N'tcha remained undefeated in singles play this season and improved to 4-0 in dual-match action. Samford's Yasmeen Ebada and Emily Mallory also remained undefeated as the Bulldogs own a stellar 22-5 record in singles this year.
 
UAB (4-4) heads into Wednesday's contest riding the positive momentum of a two-match winning streak. Since losing at home to UTSA on Feb. 16, 7-0, the Blazers have rattled off consecutive victories against Jacksonville State, 6-0, and North Alabama, 6-1.
 
In UAB's doubleheader sweep Friday, the Blazers only lost one point on the day, which came due to Pardis Kianoush's retirement at the third singles court against UNA. UAB won all but two singles contests in straight sets. In doubles action, UAB picked up wins at each court.
 
Last season, Samford suffered a hard-fought 4-3 loss to cross-town rival UAB in a hotly-contested matchup held at the Samford Tennis Center.
 
The Bulldogs and Blazers split the singles matches, 3-3, but then UAB opened the competition with a critical victory in doubles play that proved to be the decisive factor of the contest.
 
On courts No. 2 and 3, Samford and UAB traded 8-6 victories, sending the clinching match to court No. 1 where the Blazers' combination of Rachel Daniell and Menanteau Moolman held on for a 9-8 win over Samford's Lewis and N'tcha.
 
UAB took the early 1-0 lead last season and then earned singles wins on courts No. 1, 2 and 6 to claim the 4-3 team victory.
 
Samford's singles triumphs occurred in the middle of the lineup as N'tcha defeated Moolman on court No. 3, 6-3, 6-0, and Mallory cruised to a 6-4, 6-1 win over Elaine Simon in the No. 5 singles contest. In the only three-set match of the evening, the Bulldogs' Carita Moolman outlasted UAB's Amy Lowther, 6-2, 3-6, 6-0, on court No. 4.
 
Samford's doubles victory occurred on court No. 2 as the Bulldogs' tandem of Adri Lochner and Moolman defeated UAB's pairing of Caroline Faught and Sarah Witkowski, 8-6.
 
Following Wednesday's nonconference matchup with UAB, the Samford University women's tennis team will next be in action Saturday at 11 a.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs kick off SoCon play on the road against the Appalachian State Mountaineers in a key league matchup to be held in Boone, N.C.