BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University men's tennis team will face one of its toughest Southern Conference challenges of the 2014 season Friday as the Bulldogs welcome the undefeated Furman Paladins to the Samford Tennis Center for a key league matchup to begin at 3 p.m. (CDT).
 
Samford (5-8, 2-2 SoCon) enters the showdown with a full head of steam after picking up back-to-back conference victories against Davidson and The Citadel last week. The Bulldogs rallied for a home 4-3 triumph over Davidson on Saturday before topping The Citadel on the road, 6-1.
 
At The Citadel on Monday, Samford was forced to play a man-down in both singles and doubles, but still registered the doubles point by earning victories on courts No. 1 and No. 2.
 
In the No. 1 contest, the Bulldogs' combination of Elliot Barnwell and Trey Carter topped The Citadel's tandem comprised of Elliott Sperr and Dillon Berkabile, 8-4. With their win, Samford's Barnwell and Carter improved to 5-6 in doubles play this season.
 
The Bulldogs' pairing of Austin Akers and Fares Kilani clinched the doubles point with an 8-5 triumph over the Cadets' Jackson Pride and Peter Bleach on court No. 2. Akers and Kilani improved to a team-best 7-5 record in the dual-match season.
 
In singles play Monday, Samford was forced to forfeit on court No. 6, but eased to victories on courts No. 1-5 to secure the 6-1 team win.
 
The Bulldogs earned four straight-set triumphs in the singles competition, while Carter gutted out a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4), come-from-behind victory over Pride on court No. 4.
 
Samford's Barnwell, Kilani, Akers and Sullivan all cruised to singles wins on courts No. 1, 2, 3 and 5, respectively. Barnwell, the Bulldogs' talented senior from Mancetter, United Kingdom, upped his team-best singles record to 8-5 this season, while Kilani moved to 7-6 on court No. 2 this spring.
 
Furman (9-7, 3-0 SoCon) also defeated The Citadel last week to remain undefeated in SoCon play this season with a lopsided 7-0 win held at the Mickel Tennis Center in Greenville, S.C.
 
The Paladins took two out of three doubles matches to claim the opening point. Senior Joel Cook, last week's SoCon Player of the Week, and sophomore Matt Browne teamed up to beat Sperr and Berkabile, 8-7(2) in the top matchup, while the duo of senior Alex Christ and sophomore Ben Horst defeated Pride and Bleach, 8-1, at flight No. 2.
 
The Cadets were victorious on court No. 3, as Connor Grady and Oliver Dedding notched an 8-6 advantage over freshman Adam Steryous and senior Nate Collins.
 
Furman then swept the singles slate as Steryous defeated Sperr, 6-2, 6-1, at flight No. 1 and Browne held on for a 6-4, 7-6(4) win over Berkabile at No. 2. In the flight No. 3 contest, junior Luke Synn posted a 6-3, 6-1 victory versus Bleach as Cook topped Dedding, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 4. Freshman Juan Sheppard bested Grady, 6-0, 6-0, at flight No. 5, while senior Sven Ivankovic completed the sweep with a 6-1, 6-0 win against Joe Bove at No. 6.
 
In last season's annual matchup between Samford and Furman, the Bulldogs suffered a 4-3 hard-fought setback on the road.
 
The Paladins won the doubles point, which proved to be critical factor in the outcome of the match.
 
Samford's doubles tandem comprised of Alex Sajonz and Kilani cruised to an 8-3 victory over the pairing of Jacob Behal and Tyler Droll on court No. 3, but Furman then rallied to take wins on courts No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.
 
In the No. 2 doubles contest, the Paladins' duo of Christ and Browne earned the clinching victory by holding off Samford's Barnwell and Akers, 9-7.
 
Despite losing the all-important doubles point, the Bulldogs bounced back with two quick straight-set triumphs in singles play to garner a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Samford's Barnwell posted the first victory of the singles competition with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Christ on court No. 2, while Sajonz reeled off a 6-1, 7-6 triumph over Furman's Cook in the No. 4 singles contest.
 
Following the Bulldogs' wins from Barnwell and Sajonz, the teams traded singles points on courts No. 5 and No. 3 to give Samford a 3-2 road advantage.
 
Kilani tallied Samford's triumph with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Furman's Browne on court No. 3.
 
The Bulldogs held their 3-2 advantage over the Paladins briefly, but Furman was leading in both of the last two three-set contest on courts No. 1 and No. 6. In the end, despite valiant attempts from Samford's Zac Dunkle and Garrison Laduca, the Paladins were victorious on both courts and tallied the 4-3 come-from-behind team win.
 
Following Friday's SoCon contest with Furman, the Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action Sunday at 1 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs continue their two-match league homestand against the Wofford Terriers to be held at the Samford Tennis Complex.