GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The Samford University women's tennis team will take its undefeated Southern Conference record on the road Saturday as the Bulldogs face off against the UNCG Spartans at 11 a.m. (CDT) in a critical league contest to be held at the UNCG Tennis Courts.
 
Samford (10-8, 4-0 SoCon) heads into the matchup looking to rebound from a heartbreaking 4-3 non-conference loss at Troy on Wednesday.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT
At Troy, Samford suffered its first defeat in nearly four weeks as the Bulldogs dropped a hard-fought 4-3 decision against the Trojans in an in-state, South Regional duel held at the Lunsford Tennis Complex.
 
With the difficult loss, Samford had its five-match winning streak come to an end as the Bulldogs felt defeat for the first time since March 14. After losing at home to Tulane, 4-1, Samford rattled off five-consecutive victories against UMass, 4-3, Furman, 5-2, Wofford, 7-0, Mercer, 6-1, and ETSU, 4-3.
 
Troy tallied the match-clinching win at the No. 3 singles position as the Trojans' Jiayuan Xue outlasted the Bulldogs' Jessica Northcutt in a three-set marathon, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3. Xue's victory broke a 3-3 draw in the team contest.
 
Playing in front of a rambunctious home crowd, Troy jumped out to an early 2-0 lead by winning the doubles point and then taking a victory in the No. 1 singles match.
 
Despite its initial deficit, Samford never lost faith and rebounded with straight-set singles triumphs from Carita Moolman on court No. 4 and Yasmeen Ebada at No. 2.
 
Moolman, the Bulldogs' talented junior from Aranos, Namibia, extended her winning streak to five-consecutive matches by breezing to a 6-4, 6-2 victory over the Trojans' Margot De Haan. With the win, Moolman trimmed Troy's deficit to 2-1 and improved her dual-match record to 12-3 on the season.
 
After a Trojans' win on court No. 5, Samford's Ebada defeated Sanae Ohta in the No. 2 singles matchup, 6-4, 6-2, to make the overall score of the contest 3-2. Additionally, the Bulldogs' talented senior from Cairo, Egypt, upped her singles record on the season to 9-9.
 
With Troy needing just one more singles win to claim the dual-match victory, Samford's Savannah Wood came through under pressure by earning a thrilling 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 come-from-behind triumph against the Trojans' Brooke Durden in the No. 6 singles matchup. Wood improved to 10-5 with the victory and extended her singles winning streak to six-consecutive matches.
 
Wood's triumph set up the final contest on court No. 3 where Troy's Xue was able to hold off the Bulldogs' Northcutt in the decisive win.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
UNCG (8-8, 2-1 SoCon) heads into this week's play with a full head of steam after posting a 4-3 home victory against former league opponent Davidson on April 1.
 
In the Spartans' triumph over Davidson, UNCG garnered a close doubles point as freshman Corinne Blythe and senior Kayla Gammie earned a 8-7 (5) win at No. 1 doubles in the deciding match.
 
Gammie also won in singles play by defeating Elaina Cummer, 7-5, 6-2, at No. 1 singles. Sophomore Masey DeMoss proved to be triumphant in straight sets against Ally Sexton, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 6 singles. Junior Jamie Grinberg clinched the 4-3 team victory with a three-set win against Sarah Stein, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, at No. 4 singles.
 
The Spartans' junior Amy Ellis boasts an 8-7 singles record this season, but is a perfect 4-0 at No. 5 singles. Senior Stephanie Falcon is 8-4 with a 5-2 mark at No. 2 singles. Grinberg is 7-6 in singles with a 4-3 mark at No. 6 singles.
 
In doubles play, UNCG's combination of Falcon and freshman Blaine Boaz leads the team with a 6-6 record at No. 2 doubles.
 
Saturday's contest against Samford will be the final home match for UNCG's seniors Falcon, Gammie and Alisha Burton.
 
IN LAST YEAR'S MEETING
On April 6, 2014, Samford tallied its sixth shutout victory of the dual-match campaign, including its third in four outings, as the Bulldogs blanked UNCG, 7-0, in a late-season SoCon contest held indoors at the Samford Tennis Center.
 
With its victory, Samford remained undefeated at home and extended its winning streak at the Samford Tennis Center to 13-consecutive matches. In 2014, the Bulldogs boasted a brilliant 13-0 record at home.
 
Last season, Samford proved to be triumphant in all nine of its contests against UNCG. The Bulldogs swept the three doubles matches and then breezed to six straight-set victories in the singles competition.
 
COMING UP NEXT
Following Saturday's SoCon showdown at UNCG, the Samford University women's tennis team will next be in action Sunday at noon (CDT) as the Bulldogs conclude their two-match weekend road trip against the Western Carolina Catamounts in another key league test to be held at the Catamount Athletic Complex in Cullowhee, North Carolina.