SOCON TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The second-seeded Samford men's tennis team will open play in the Southern Conference Tournament against seventh-seeded and host, Chattanooga Friday at 9:30 a.m. (CT) at the Champions Club in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Samford wrapped up the regular season by playing at Chattanooga on April 13. Samford came away with a 6-1 victory over the Mocs in that meeting.

For the season, Samford posted a record of 12-4 overall and 6-1 in Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs have won their last seven matches in a row, entering this weekend's tournament.

Samford placed two singles players and two doubles pairs on the All-SoCon teams released earlier this week. Senior Fares Kilani was named first team All-SoCon in singles. The pair of Leonard Gerch and Trey Carter were named first team All-SoCon for doubles. Carter was also named second team All-SoCon at No. 2 singles, while Kilani and partner Justin Ghavami were named second team for doubles at No. 3.

Chattanooga currently has a record of 7-14 overall and 1-6 in SoCon play. The Mocs are coming off a 4-3 loss to UNCG on April 16.

The Mocs' Lucas Plesky was named second team All-SoCon for singles. Plesky and partner Lucas Saunders were named second team for doubles as well. Saunders also won the league's Don Bunch/Buddy Hartsell Sportsmanship Award.

The winner of the match between Samford and Chattanooga will advance to the tournament semifinals to take on either Furman or UNCG Saturday at 9 a.m. (CT). The tournament title match is scheduled for Sunday at 12 p.m. (CT). The winner of the tournament earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

To follow each match in the tournament via live stats, click on the following link: SOCON TOURNAMENT CENTRAL. A full recap and box score will be posted to www.samfordsports.com following the conclusion of each match.