Live ScoringCHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- The Samford University men's tennis team will begin its quest for a second-consecutive Southern Conference Tournament championship Thursday at 8 a.m. (CDT) as the No. 5-seed Bulldogs are slated to face off against the No. 4-seed Appalachian State Mountaineers at the Champions Club.
Samford (8-9, 5-3 SoCon) and
Appalachian State (9-12, 6-3 SoCon) both earned first-round byes in this season's edition of the 2014 SoCon Tournament. The winner of Thursday's showdown will meet either ninth-seed Chattanooga or top-seed Elon at 9 a.m., Friday.
Last season, Samford qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years by winning the 2013 SoCon Tournament championship. In the final match of the four-day competition, Samford rallied for a critical 4-3 triumph over Elon. Earlier in the tournament, the Bulldogs also defeated Davidson and College of Charleston.
Samford heads into the 2014 SoCon Tournament riding the positive momentum of a three-match winning streak. Since coming up short against Furman on March 28, the Bulldogs closed out their regular-season schedule with consecutive conference triumphs over Wofford, Georgia Southern and Chattanooga.
Samford has battled through a plethora of injuries all season long, but has found its stride here late in the 2014 campaign. The Bulldogs have been victorious in five of their last seven matches and are entering the SoCon Tournament with a full head of steam.
Earlier this season, Samford met Appalachian State in a hotly-contested SoCon opener held at the Samford Tennis Center on March 2, where the Bulldogs suffered a 4-3 loss to the Mountaineers in a battle that came down to the final singles court.
Samford came up short in the all-important doubles point as Appalachian State notched an early 1-0 advantage in the match.
The Bulldogs' doubles combination of
Austin Akers and
Fares Kilani reeled off an 8-5 victory on court No. 3, but the Mountaineers were able to hang on to victories on courts No. 1 and No. 2 by respective scores of 8-5 and 8-2.
Despite dropping the doubles point, Samford bounced back in singles play and received quick straight-set triumphs from
Elliot Barnwell, Kilani and
Liam Sullivan.
Following their early resurgence in singles play, the Bulldogs battled back to even the score of the match at 3-3, as all eyes turned to court No. 4 and a battle between Carter and Appalachian State's Zach Bost.
In the decisive match of the contest, the Mountaineers' Bost was able to outlast Carter for a 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4 marathon win as Appalachian State posted its 4-3 team victory.
The winner of Thursday's SoCon Tournament battle between Samford and Appalachian State will advance to Friday's quarterfinal round of competition and will play at 9 a.m. (CDT).
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