Box Score
Samford Stats
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University men's tennis team rekindled memories of its distant Ohio Valley Conference past Thursday as the Bulldogs breezed to a 6-1 victory over former OVC-foe Eastern Kentucky in a nonconference duel held at the Samford Tennis Center.
"I am pleased with the way the guys performed today," said Samford head coach
Rahim Esmail. "We got ourselves into situations on many courts where we needed to find ways to win, and we were able to do that. We found a way to win the doubles point, which helped us with the momentum."
Samford (3-7) rallied to claim the all-important doubles point Thursday and garnered an early 1-0 advantage in the match.
Despite losing the No. 1 doubles contest, 8-5, the Bulldogs bounced back to record victories on courts No. 2 and No. 3. In the No. 3 matchup, Samford's combination of
Austin Akers and
Fares Kilani tallied a key 8-4 triumph, while the Bulldogs' tandem of
Elliot Barnwell and
Liam Sullivan posted a decisive 8-5 win over the Colonels' combination of Sebastian Mueller and Diego Asis on court No. 2.
Samford dominated singles play Thursday, while
Eastern Kentucky's (6-6) lone victory of day occurred at court No. 5 where Florian Graskamp notched a 6-3, 7-6 (5) win.
The Bulldogs proved to be triumphant on courts No. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6; three of which were registered in straight sets.
On court No. 1, Samford's Barnwell cruised to a dominant, 6-2, 6-2, victory over the Colonels' Alex Alvaro. With his victory, the Bulldogs' senior native of Mancetter, United Kingdom, improved to 6-4 in dual-match play this season.
"Elliot continues to do a great job at the top of our lineup and perform at a high standard," Esmail said. "I thought Liam did a great job today at No. 6, finding a way to win and being disciplined with his tactics. That was the difference in his match when it got close in the second set. We are happy to get out of here with a win and hope to gain some confidence from it as a team and carry that in to this weekend."
Also winning Thursday were Kilani, Akers, Sullivan and
Trey Carter. In the No. 6 singles match, Samford's Sullivan improved to 4-5 in singles play this season with a 6-2, 7-6 (4) victory over Eastern Kentucky's Asis.
The Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action Sunday at 10 a.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs continue their three-match homestand against the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns in another key nonconference contest to be held at the Samford Tennis Center.
Box Score
Samford Stats
