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SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- The Samford University men's tennis team will begin its quest for an automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Tournament on Friday at 9:30 a.m. (CDT) as the fourth-seeded Bulldogs square off against the fifth-seeded UNCG Spartans in the opening round of the Southern Conference Tournament. The highly-anticipated contest will be held at the Reeves Tennis Center.
 
Samford (9-10, 3-4 SoCon) enters into the SoCon Tournament with a full head of steam after closing out its regular-season schedule with back-to-back league victories against Chattanooga, 6-1, and The Citadel, 7-0. The Bulldogs have excelled in neutral-site matches this year and boast a perfect 2-0 record with wins against No. 47-ranked UNC-Wilmington, 4-3, and Northern Kentucky, 6-0.
 
In singles play this season, Samford has registered a 24-18 record against SoCon opponents. The Bulldogs' Austin Akers, Trey Carter and Eduardo Lourido Sanchez have all led the way with 5-2 records.
 
AKERS NAMED ALL-SOCON
Samford's Akers was honored by the SoCon on Wednesday as the Bulldogs' senior native of Lexington, Kentucky, was named a Second-Team Men's Tennis All-SoCon performer in a vote conducted by the league's head coaches.
 
Akers, Samford's team captain and lone senior on the Bulldogs' roster this season, has accumulated an 11-7 record in singles play this spring, including an 11-6 mark on court No. 2. He finished the 2015 dual-match campaign with a 5-2 record against league opponents and is in the midst of a four-match winning streak.
 
Wednesday's Second-Team All-SoCon honor marked the second such accolade of Akers' career. Two seasons ago, as a sophomore, Samford's transfer from the University of Wisconsin was named to the All-SoCon Second Team for his performance at No. 5 singles.
 
In 2013, Akers concluded the regular season with a 13-7 overall record and a 7-3 record in SoCon action. On court No. 5, he posted a 12-7 mark and played a key role in Samford's solid 7-3 league record.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT
Samford closed out its 2015 regular season in style Saturday as the Bulldogs cruised to a 7-0 triumph over The Citadel Bulldogs in a SoCon matchup held at the Samford Tennis Center.
 
With the victory, Samford closed out its regular season with a four-match home winning streak and with a 6-3 record when playing at the Samford Tennis Center.
 
The Bulldogs opened their meeting with The Citadel by winning the doubles point and taking an early 1-0 advantage.
 
On court No. 1, the Cadets' tandem of Artemie Amari and Peter Bleach earned a slight 8-7 victory, but then Samford swept the final two doubles matches on courts No. 2 and No. 3. The Bulldogs' combination of Akers and Austin Heinz breezed to an 8-2 triumph in the No. 2 doubles contest, while Fares Kilani and Justin Ghavami rolled to an 8-3 on court No. 3.
 
Samford's most successful doubles position has been the No. 3 matchup this season. The Bulldogs own a 22-27 overall record in dual-match play, while they are 10-7 on court No. 3.
 
In singles play Saturday, Samford proved to be triumphant in straight sets on five of the six courts. The lone three-set contest occurred on court No. 4 where Ghavami held off the Cadets' Pride, 7-5, 1-6, 6-3. With his win, true freshman Ghavami improved to 11-7 in dual-match play this spring.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
UNCG (11-9, 3-4 SoCon) lost a tough 6-1 match at Furman in its regular-season finale back on April 12. Redshirt sophomore William Albright earned the lone singles win against the Paladins.
 
Senior Randy Phillips, a First-Team All-SoCon selection, owns a 25-8 overall record and boasts a 16-4 mark during the spring season. Classmate Cameron Smith enters the SoCon Tournament with an 11-13 overall mark and holds a 9-10 dual-match record.
 
Freshman Connor Thompson is 11-8 during the spring and owns a 3-6 record at No. 2 singles and has played his last 10 matches at the No. 2 position. Junior Daniel Mack is 10-9 in singles, including a solid 7-2 mark on court No. 3. Albright is 9-6 in singles with a 9-4 record at the No. 6 singles position.   
 
In doubles play, Phillips and Thompson own a 13-6 record on court No. 1 and the duo of Mack and Smith are 6-3 at No. 3. The sophomore tandem of Warren Bryan and Albright are 7-6 at No. 2 doubles this season.
 
IN THE FIRST MEETING
On March 13, Samford opened its 2015 SoCon schedule with a 5-2 home victory against UNCG. The Bulldogs dropped the doubles point against the Spartans and fell behind early 1-0.
 
In singles play, Samford started its rally with a momentous 6-4, 6-4 win from Carter on court No. 3. The Bulldogs' junior native of Birmingham, Alabama, proved to be one of four Samford players to earn straight-set victories.
 
Against UNCG, the Bulldogs' Ghavami, Lourido Sanchez and Jake Faundez also notched straight-set triumphs. Ghavami clinched the match at No. 4 singles with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over the Spartans' Cameron Smith.
 
On court No. 2, Samford's Akers registered a thrilling, three-set triumph over UNCG's Daniel Mack, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. With his win, Akers improved to 6-5 on the season.
 
2014 SOCON TOURNAMENT RESULTS
Last season, Samford opened the SoCon Tournament against Appalachian State and suffered a 4-2 defeat in the annual competition held in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
 
Samford won the doubles point and took an early 1-0 lead in the matchup.
 
The Bulldogs' No. 1 doubles combination of Elliot Barnwell and Carter cruised to an 8-3 victory over Appalachian State's duo comprised of Zach Bost and Sebastien King to start the competition, while Akers and Kilani secured Samford's initial point with an 8-5 triumph against the Mountaineers' Ollie Casey and Daniel Hoang on court No. 2.
 
In singles play, Samford received a straight-set victory on court No. 4 from Carter, 7-6 (5), 6-1, but Appalachian State also carded wins on courts No. 1, No. 3, No. 5 and No. 6, to secure the 4-2 team triumph.
 
With the Mountaineers leading the match, 3-2, Appalachian State's King clinched the win with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 decision against Samford's Barnwell.
 
WIN AND ADVANCE
The winner of Friday's opening-round contest will advance to the semifinals of the SoCon Tournament and face either top-seeded ETSU or eighth-seeded The Citadel on Saturday at 1 p.m. (CDT). The matchup will be held at Mickel Tennis Center on the campus of Furman University in Greenville.

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