CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- The Samford University men's tennis team will close out its regular-season schedule Wednesday at 1 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs meet the Chattanooga Mocs in a critical Southern Conference contest to be held at the UTC Tennis Center.
 
On Saturday, Samford (7-9, 4-3 SoCon) closed out its 2014 home schedule in impressive fashion as the Bulldogs picked up a 6-1 SoCon triumph over the Georgia Southern Eagles in a Senior Day contest held at the Samford Tennis Center. The win proved to be the Bulldogs' second in a row.
 
During the matchup, Samford honored senior Elliot Barnwell with a special Senior Day presentation.
 
Barnwell, the Bulldogs' highly-touted native of Mancetter, United Kingdom, proved to be victorious in both doubles and singles play. In the opening doubles round of action, he teamed with Trey Carter on court No. 1 and registered an 8-4 victory over the Eagles' combination of Oliver Webb and Kyle Hoffman.
 
In singles play, Barnwell also tallied a three-set triumph on court No. 1 against Georgia Southern's Webb, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(4). With his victory, Barnwell earned his fifth-consecutive singles win and improved his dual-match record on the season to 11-5.
 
Samford picked up the all-important doubles point and garnered an early 1-0 lead in the SoCon contest. The Bulldogs then added straight-set triumphs in singles play from Fares Kilani, Austin Akers and Liam Sullivan.
 
Kilani, Samford's dominant No. 2 singles player from Tunis, Tunisia, notched his second straight singles victory Saturday by defeating Georgia Southern's Kyle Hoffman, 6-1, 6-1. On the season, Kilani boasts a 9-7 record in dual-match play.
 
In the No. 3 singles contest, the Bulldogs' Carter recorded his fifth-consecutive win with a hard-fought three-set triumph against the Eagles' Marco Osorio, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3.
 
Samford's Akers improved to 6-9 with his quick victory on court No. 4, while Sullivan knocked off Georgia Southern's Albert Codina Sala, 6-3, 6-3, to move his dual-match singles record on the season to 8-7.
 
Chattanooga (6-12, 1-7 SoCon) heads into Wednesday's showdown with aspirations of snapping a five-match conference losing streak. Since defeating The Citadel on March 8, 5-2, the Mocs have dropped SoCon contests against Davidson, 5-2, Wofford, 5-2, Furman, 7-0, Georgia Southern, 4-3, and the Appalachian State Mountaineers, 4-3.
 
At Appalachian State on Sunday, Chattanooga was swept in the doubles competition and fell behind 2-0 after freshman Austin Boaz was blanked, 6-0, 6-0, by Jack Maddocks at No. 5. Shortly thereafter, sophomore Gino Delavalle scored a point at No. 4 when his opponent withdrew.
 
The Mountaineers extended their lead to 3-1 after Oliver Casey tallied a 6-2, 6-4 win over senior Jorge Varon at No. 2. The Mocs then closed the gap once more following junior Pavels Grigorjevs' 6-3, 6-4 win over Sebastian King at No. 1. The triumph marked the third win in a row in the top spot for Grigorjevs.
 
Later in the afternoon, Appalachian State's Jan Willem Kleynhans closed out the match with a 6-4, 6-4 win over freshman Derrick Brown at No. 6. 
 
The most exciting match took place on court No. 3 when sophomore Luke Saunders defeated Zach Bost in straight sets, but needed tiebreakers in both frames for the win.
 
Following Wednesday's regular-season finale at Chattanooga, the Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action April 17 as the Bulldogs begin play in the 2014 SoCon Tournament. Samford, the defending SoCon Tournament champions, are scheduled to defend their crown April 17-19, at the Champions Club in Chattanooga.