CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Samford men's tennis team won the Southern Conference Tournament title with a 4-3 win over Furman in the championship match Saturday afternoon at The Champions Club.
 
This marks the third SoCon Tournament title for the program and the first since 2013. Samford will find out its first-round opponent at the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships selection show, which is scheduled for Monday, April 28 at 4 p.m. CT.
 
"This has been a special season," Samford head coach Oliver Reynolds said. "We've probably had the best year we've had since 2011, which was pretty crazy because that was my senior year at Samford. We're 19-5, that's a pretty great feeling. We got through the year, and we got through some tough moments and this is a pretty special moment for our guys."
 
Samford improved its season record to 19-5 with the win. Furman ends its season with a mark of 9-15.
 
The deciding point came at No. 4 singles where J.B. Pickard defeated Walker Allen, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, to give the Bulldogs the championship.
 
"This last match, coming down to one of our seniors and a guy from Furman who we've got a lot of respect for, and he's been a great competitor," Reynolds said. "Our guy, he has had his foot on the pedal all year long. He has been an outstanding senior for us, he has been somebody we've looked to all year long and for him to have that moment at the end and to be able to have that feeling of pulling it out for this team is pretty cool."
 
Furman took the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 to take an early 1-0 lead. Samford tied the score at 1-1 when Will Gray defeated Connor Laymon, 6-1, 6-4 on the No. 6 singles court. At No. 5 singles, Sebastian Harrison picked up a 6-3, 6-2 win over Nico Snyder for a 2-1 Samford lead.
 
Samford pushed its lead to 3-1 when Hayden Menon defeated John Rado, 6-4, 7-5 on the No. 3 singles court. At No. 1 singles, Furman's Elijah Poritzky defeated Sandeep Mohandoss, 6-4, 6-4 to cut the lead to 3-2. Furman knotted the score at 3-3 when Matt Kandel defeated Darcy Nicholls, 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 6-2, on the No. 2 singles court.
 
Samford 4, Furman 3
Singles Competition
1. Elijah Poritzky (FUR) def. Sandeep Mohandoss (SAMM) 6-4, 6-4
2. Matt Kandel (FUR) def. Darcy Nicholls (SAMM) 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 6-2
3. Hayden Menon (SAMM) def. John Rado (FUR) 6-4, 7-5
4. J.B. Pickard (SAMM) def. Walker Allen (FUR) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
5. Sebastian Harrison (SAMM) def. Nico Snyder (FUR) 6-3, 6-2
6. Will Gray (SAMM) def. Connor Laymon (FUR) 6-1, 6-4
 
Doubles Competition
1. Elijah Poritzky/Matt Kandel (FUR) def. J.B. Pickard/Darcy Nicholls (SAMM) 7-6 (7-3)
2. Santiago Arredondo/Sandeep Mohandoss (SAMM) def. Cole Burnham/Connor Laymon (FUR) 6-2
3. Nico Snyder/Nicolas Dispas (FUR) def. Vitorio Sardinha/Sebastian Harrison (SAMM) 7-6 (7-4)


 
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).