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RICHMOND, KY. -- The Samford University men's tennis team faced its third-consecutive opponent from the state of Kentucky on Sunday and cruised to a 6-1 non-conference victory against its former Ohio Valley Conference rivals, the Eastern Kentucky Colonels, in a cross-regional matchup held at the Greg Adams Tennis Center.
 
"We did a great job today of finding ways to win," said Samford head coach Rahim Esmail. "We talked about the importance of this before the match. About doing whatever it took to find a way today to win on the road, and we accomplished that."
 
With the victory, Samford (4-5) extended its winning streak to two-consecutive matches and earned its fourth triumph in its last five outings.
 
Since Feb. 18, the Bulldogs have rattled off victories against UAB, Lipscomb, Northern Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky (5-4). Samford's lone loss in the last two weeks occurred at home against No. 27-ranked Kentucky on Feb. 22.
 
On Sunday, the Bulldogs gained some huge momentum in doubles play as Samford's No. 3 tandem comprised of Fares Kilani and Eduardo Lourido Sanchez tallied a thrilling 7-6(7) victory over the Colonels' Diego Asis and Sebastian Mueller to clinch the match-opening point. Samford also received a quick 6-3 win on court No. 1 from Trey Carter and Justin Ghavami en route to earning its early 1-0 lead.
 
"We gutted out a tough doubles point today and our play in No. 1 doubles was very solid," Esmail said. "It was important for us to be challenged today in different ways. We did a great job of working together as a team and creating the energy and positive atmosphere on our own."
 
Three of the six singles matches Sunday were decided in three sets.
 
Samford quickly registered straight-set victories from Carter on court No. 3 and Austin Akers on court No. 2 to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead. With Akers' win, Samford's senior improved to 4-4 in dual-match play this season.
 
The next match to finish occurred on court No. 4 where the Bulldogs' Ghavami outlasted Eastern Kentucky's Diogo Soares, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5), to clinch Samford's overall team victory at 4-0.
 
Down the stretch, the Bulldogs' Kilani rallied back for a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 victory on court No. 1, while freshman Jake Faundez topped the Colonels' Florian Graskamp, 2-6, 6-3, 10-4. Faundez, who owns Samford's best dual-match record in singles play this season, improved his mark to 5-2 on the year.
 
The Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action Wednesday at 3 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs welcome the Stetson Hatters to the Samford Tennis Center for a key non-conference showdown.

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