BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University men's tennis team will compete in its final home match of the 2015 spring season Saturday as the Bulldogs welcome The Citadel Bulldogs to the Samford Tennis Center for a Southern Conference regular-season finale set to begin at 2 p.m. (CDT).
 
Samford (8-10, 2-4 SoCon) heads into the contest with a full head of steam after streaking to a 6-1 victory against Southern Rail rival Chattanooga on Wednesday. The triumph extended the Bulldogs' home winning streak to three-consecutive matches. Samford has not been defeated at home since March 4, in a 4-3 setback against Stetson
 
THE LAST TIME OUT
It was a fitting end to the Bulldogs' Senior Day contest Wednesday as Samford senior Austin Akers walked off the court triumphant following a thrilling, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 come-from-behind victory over Chattanooga's Lucas Plesky in a key 6-1 league win held at the Samford Tennis Center.
 
Akers, the Bulldogs' talented All-SoCon performer from Lexington, Kentucky, improved his singles record to 10-7 on the season with his match-ending win on court No. 2. With the victory, he capped a brilliant singles performance by the entire Samford squad as they swept the visiting Mocs, 6-0, in the competition.
 
Chattanooga opened the match with a pair of slight 8-6 wins in doubles play to garner the first point of the afternoon. It proved to be the Mocs' lone score of the day.
 
On court No. 3, Samford's pairing of Justin Ghavami and Fares Kilani defeated Chattanooga's Luke Saunders and Nick Wingord, 8-1. The Bulldogs' tandem improved its record on the season to 3-3.
 
Samford quickly rebounded from losing the doubles point and set the tone early in singles.
 
The Bulldogs' Kilani, Trey Carter, Eduardo Lourido Sanchez and Jake Faundez all cruised to straight-set wins. By defeating John Peacey on court No. 6, 6-1, 6-2, Faundez improved to 9-7 in singles play this season and 4-2 against SoCon opponents.
 
Lourido Sanchez clinched Samford's overall team victory on court No. 5 with a 6-2, 7-6 triumph, while Ghavami held off Wingord in the No. 4 singles contest, 7-5, 1-6, 6-2.
 
Akers, with a large contingent of friends and family on hand Wednesday, closed out the Bulldogs' win with a three-set victory. With the triumph, Akers extended his winning streak to three-consecutive matches and improved to 10-6 on court No. 2 this season.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
The Citadel (2-28, 0-6 SoCon) enters Saturday's meeting with hopes of snapping its current 22-match losing streak. The Bulldogs' last victory occurred Feb. 6, in a 5-2 neutral-site win over Murray State held at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. On Jan. 17, The Citadel also earned a 7-0 win against Spartanburg Methodist.
 
The Cadets recently dropped a 7-0 decision at No. 13-ranked Wake Forest on Sunday. In the doubles competition, Nick Bradley and Connor Grady played Keivon Tabrizi and Matt Erdman to a competitive 6-5(4) tiebreaker loss in the No. 3 position, while Sam Bloom and Anthony Delcore defeated Oliver Dedding and Jackson Pride, 6-0, in the No. 2 spot. 
 
Wake Forest clinched the doubles point with a 6-2 win by Skander Mansouri and Christian Seraphim over Artemie Amari and Peter Bleach in the No. 1 position.
 
As the match turned to singles play, the Deacons secured five wins over the Bulldogs in straight sets.
 
Tabrizi topped Amari 6-2, 6-0 in the No. 1 position followed by a 6-1, 6-4 win in the No. 2 spot by Bloom against Bleach.
 
Grady then fell in the No. 6 slot to No. 13 Romain Bogaerts by scores of 6-1, 6-0. Nicholas Osterling kept momentum going for Wake Forest with a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 5 over Dedding while Delcore topped Bradley at No. 3 by scores of 6-3, 6-1.
 
To close the match, Pride battled against Erdman in the No. 4 position. After dropping the first set 6-1, Pride fought back to win the second set, 6-2. Erdman secured the win in the third set, 1-0(9).
 
LAST YEAR'S MEETING
In the 2014 matchup between the teams, Samford was forced to play a man-down in both singles and doubles, but still registered the doubles point by earning victories on courts No. 1 and No. 2.
 
In the No. 1 doubles contest, the Bulldogs' combination of Elliot Barnwell and Carter topped The Citadel's tandem comprised of Elliott Sperr and Dillon Berkabile, 8-4.
 
The Bulldogs' pairing of Akers and Kilani clinched the doubles point with an 8-5 triumph over the Cadets' Pride and Bleach on court No. 2. Akers and Kilani improved to a team-best 7-5 record in the dual-match season.
 
In singles play, Samford was forced to forfeit on court No. 6, but eased to victories on courts No. 1-5 to secure the 6-1 team win.
 
The Bulldogs earned four straight-set triumphs in the singles competition, while Carter gutted out a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4), come-from-behind victory over Pride on court No. 4. Samford's Barnwell, Kilani, Akers and Sullivan all cruised to singles wins on courts No. 1, 2, 3 and 5, respectively.
 
COMING UP NEXT
Following Saturday's home showdown against The Citadel, the Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action April 24-26, as the Bulldogs head to Greenville, South Carolina, for the 2015 SoCon Tournament being co-hosted by Furman University and Wofford University. Seeding, start times and matchups have yet to be determined and will be released at a later date.