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GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Samford University men's tennis team's 2015 season came to an end Saturday as the Bulldogs came up short, 4-1, against the top-seeded ETSU Buccaneers in the semifinal round of the Southern Conference Tournament being held at the Mickel Tennis Center on the campus of Furman University.
 
"We lost a very tough battle today," said Samford head coach Rahim Esmail. "It was a great match and we came up just short. This is a tough one to swallow to come up just short, with the difference in the match being a couple points here and there on a few courts. ETSU is a great team and there is a reason why they are the top team in our conference. They have earned that position.
 
"We put ourselves in more than just a position to win today. We competed extremely hard and I am proud of my team and what they represent."
 
Samford (10-11) dropped the doubles point Saturday, but played competitively against the regular-season champion ETSU (18-7) squad on all three courts. With their wins on courts No. 2 and No. 3, the Buccaneers took an early 1-0 lead in the match.
 
In singles play, ETSU notched a win on court No. 5 to extend its lead to 2-0, but then Samford quickly rebounded with a victory of its own as junior Trey Carter cruised to a 6-4, 6-3 triumph over Diego Nunez on court No. 3. With his win, Carter improved to 11-9 this season and cut the Buccaneers' lead to 2-1.
 
ETSU's last two victories occurred in extremely close contests.
 
On court No. 6, the Buccaneers' Robert Herrera held off Samford true freshman Jake Faundez, 6-4, 7-6(2), while David Biosca, the 2015 SoCon Player of the Year, needed three sets to defeat the Bulldogs' Fares Kilani, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. Biosca's win clinched ETSU's victory and secured their trip to Sunday's SoCon Tournament championship match.
 
The Buccaneers are in the first season of their second all-time stint in the SoCon. ETSU was recently affiliated with the Atlantic Sun Conference and won the championship title in each of the last eight years in the league.
 
Samford, one of the youngest teams in the SoCon this season, boasted a starting lineup of one senior, two juniors and a trio of talented true freshmen.

"Our lone senior, Austin Akers, left it all out on the court today," Esmail said. "He has come a long way and was part of the team two years ago that won the conference championship. He has played a major role in the standard that we have built here within the last few years. He will leave a strong legacy behind him, which this young team will continue to build upon."

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