Box Score
Samford Stats
ELON, N.C. -- The Samford University men's tennis team suffered a 7-0 road defeat against the No. 46-ranked Elon Phoenix on Saturday as the Southern Conference foes battled in an early league showdown held at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
With the loss,
Samford (2-7, 0-2 SoCon) moved to 0-4 when playing away from home this season. The defeat was also the Bulldogs' second against nationally-ranked
Elon (7-3, 2-0 SoCon).
Samford has faced an extremely tough schedule this season, which has included five matches against nationally-ranked opponents. Already in their 2014 campaign, the Bulldogs have faced No. 9 Mississippi State, No. 46 Elon twice, No. 56 Indiana and the 73
rd-ranked Tulane Green Wave.
In Saturday's contest at Elon, Samford came up just short in doubles play as the Phoenix was able to hold on to tight victories on courts No. 1 and No. 3.
The Bulldogs' doubles tandem of
Elliot Barnwell and
Liam Sullivan proved to be triumphant on court No. 2 as Samford's combination outlasted Elon's Brian Kowalski and Robert Lindgren, 8-7 (5).
In singles play, the Bulldogs' Barnwell nearly upended the Phoenix's 26
th-ranked Cameron Silverman on court No. 1. Barnwell, Samford's hard-nosed, feisty native of Mancetter, United Kingdom, won the first set of the contest, 6-3, but then dropped back-to-back frames of 6-3, 6-3, as Silverman rallied back for the victory.
The Bulldogs'
Austin Akers also forced a third set against his Elon counterpart Saturday. In the No. 3 singles contest, Akers won the first stanza, 6-2, before Kowalski rallied back to claim a three-set, super-tiebreaker victory, 6-1, 1-0 (2).
The Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action Thursday at 3 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs return home to Birmingham, Ala., to face the Eastern Kentucky Colonels in a nonconference showdown to be held at the Samford Tennis Center.
Box Score
Samford Stats
