BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford men's tennis team had a strong showing in the first of two Samford Invites, held this weekend at the Samford Tennis Center.
 
Samford was joined in the tournament by UAB, North Alabama and Georgia Southern.
 
"This weekend was a tough event early in the fall for us with UAB, Georgia Southern and North Alabama," Samford head coach Oliver Reynolds said. "All three of these teams are extremely competitive, and had great seasons last year, so it was tough to start off with an extremely high level."
 
On the first day, Samford took on UAB in singles, winning three of the five matches. That same day, Samford took on North Alabama in doubles, playing four matches, with each team winning two.
 
On the second day, Samford and Georgia Southern split eight singles matches. The day two doubles match was against UAB, with the Blazers winning two of the three matches.
 
On the final day, the Bulldogs took on North Alabama in singles, with UNA winning six of the seven matches. In doubles on Day three, Samford played Georgia Southern, with the teams splitting four matches.
 
"We had quite a few wins this week that were very impressive," Reynolds said. "There was an extremely high level that was played each day across the board. Day one and Day two we came out with good energy and did an awesome job competing well. Day three we lacked a little bit of the energy we had the first couple of days, which I believe hurt us at the end a little.
 
"Overall there were a lot of highs from the weekend," Reynolds said. "And we learned a lot about this team already and what we need to work on the next two weeks before we start our next event. It was also great watching the first-year players compete and I look forward to their additions to the team."
 
A full list of Samford's results from this weekend is below.
 
Samford will host its second Samford Invite of the fall season, Sept. 27-29 at the Samford Tennis Center.
 
Samford vs. UAB Singles (SAM 3, UAB 2)
Noah Malige (UAB) def. Darcy Nicholls (SAM), 1-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2
J.B. Pickard (SAM) def. Juan Pablu Valdez (UAB), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Ondrej Valek (UAB) def. Sebastian Harrison (SAM), 6-4, 6-3
Hayden Menon (SAM) def. Hoan Mauret (UAB), 5-7, 6-0, 6-4
Victorio Sardinha (SAM) def. Jake Anthony (UAB), 6-3, 6-3
 
Samford vs. North Alabama Doubles (SAM 2, UNA 2)
Altur/Orgiles (UNA) def. Mohandoss/Arredondo (SAM), 7-6 (4)
Pickard/Sardinha (SAM) def. Fedoryshyn/Nakajima (UNA), 7-6 (6)
Harrison/Free (SAM) def. Balyour/Brain (UNA), 6-4
Duran/Davis (UNA) def. Schwartzman/Piegza, 6-3
 
Samford vs. Georgia Southern Singles (SAM 4, GSU 4)
Darcy Nicholls (SAM) def. Pol del Castillo (GSU), 6-3, 7-6 (2)
Pierre Mouesca (GSU) def. J.B. Pickard (SAM), 6-2, 4-6, 10-6
Aaron James Williams (GSU) def. Sebastian Harrison (GSU), 6-1, 6-4
Dimitris Paliouras (GSU) def. Hayden Menon (SAM), 6-2, 6-3
Santiago Arredondo (SAM) def. Laurent Julia Calac (GSU), 4-6, 6-3, 13-11
Victorio Sardinha (SAM) def. Milon Ristov (GSU), 6-3, 6-4
Matthew Mitchell (GSU) def. Parker Free (SAM), 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5)
Ben Kiblinger (SAM) def. Alex Amacher (GSU), 6-2, 1-6, 13-11
 
Samford vs. UAB Doubles (UAB 2, SAM 1)
Valek/Malige (UAB) def. Nicholls/Mohandoss (SAM), 7-5
Valdez/Mauret (UAB) def. Sardinha/Arredondo (SAM), 6-4
Pickard/Harrison (SAM) def. Nouchakis/Anthony (UAB), 6-3
 
Samford vs. North Alabama Singles (UNA 6, SAM 1)
Birtan Duran (UNA) def. J.B. Pickard (SAM), 6-2, 7-5
Sebastian Harrison (SAM) def. Lachlan Brain (UNA), 6-7 (2), 6-2, 11-9
Nazar Fedoryshyn (UNA) def. Hayden Menon (SAM), 7-6 (2), 6-2
Satoru Nakajima (UNA) def. Santiago Arredondo (SAM), 6-4, 7-6 (6)
Izan Orgiles (UNA) def. Victorio Sardinha (SAM), 6-2, 6-1
Alberto Altur (UNA) def. Martin Schwartzman (SAM), 6-2, 6-3
Whitman Davis (UNA) def. Charlie Piegza (SAM), 6-0, 6-4
 
Samford vs. Georgia Southern Doubles (SAM 2, GSU 2)
Nicholls/Mohandoss (SAM) def. Williams/Julia Calac (GSU), 7-6 (3)
Del Castillo/ Paliouras (GSU) def. Arredondo/Pickard (SAM), 7-6 (4)
Free/Sardinha (SAM) def. Monesca/Mitchell (GSU), 6-4
Amacher/Ristov (GSU) def. Gray/Kiblinger (SAM, 6-3
 
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS:
For the latest news and information on Samford men's tennis, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at SamfordSports.com. Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at /SamfordSports (Facebook) and @Samford_MTennis (Twitter).