Samford 4, Davidson 3
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- With a light layer of snow covering Samford’s outdoor courts, the Bulldogs’ men’s tennis team was forced to play their inaugural Southern Conference match indoors Sunday at the state-of-the-art Pat M. Courington Tennis Pavilion. Samford overcame the adversity and thrived in a hard-fought 4-3 victory against Davidson.
The Bulldogs won the doubles point and received critical singles wins from Carson Kadi, Richard Walsh and Oliver Reynolds. Kadi’s thrilling come-from-behind victory against the Wildcats’ Scott Myers on court No. 3 proved to be the game-winner 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
With Sunday’s victory, Samford (2-7, 1-0 SoCon) improved its record on the season to 1-1 when playing at home. The win was also the Bulldogs’ first in league play.
Davidson (3-6, 0-1 SoCon) dropped to 0-4 in road matches this season and lost its fifth contest in seven outings. The Wildcats entered Sunday’s matchup having defeated Richmond at home Friday 4-2.
Samford took an early 1-0 advantage in Sunday’s contest by winning the doubles point.
On court No. 3, the Bulldogs’ combination of Kadi and Walsh cruised to an 8-3 victory over the Wildcats’ pair of Carter Braxton and David Warren, while Samford’s duo of Carl Abalos and Reynolds outlasted Davidson’s Calum Gee and Myers on court No. 3, 9-7.
In singles play, Reynolds and Walsh both breezed to straight-set victories on courts No. 5 and No. 6, before Kadi close out the win on court No. 3.
Reynolds, the Bulldogs’ sophomore from McDonough, Ga., earned a 6-1, 6-0 win against Tareq Alani on court No. 6, while Walsh tallied a 6-4, 6-3 triumph in the No. 5 singles match versus the Wildcats’ Arie Hefter.
The Samford University men’s tennis team will next be in action Friday at 2 p.m., as the Bulldogs continue their SoCon schedule at home against the Elon Phoenix at the Samford Tennis Center.
Georgia 5, Furman 1
ATHENS, Ga. ? The Furman men’s tennis team dropped a 5-1 decision to the second-ranked Georgia Bulldogs at Hopkins Indoor Center on Sunday afternoon. The match was forced indoors due to a snowstorm in Georgia and the number six singles match was halted in the super tiebreaker due to a power outage in the building. The Paladins fell to 6-6 on the season while Georgia improved to 11-1 overall.
UGA took the early lead in the match, winning all three doubles matches to clinch the team point. Georgia’s #58 Jamie Hunt increased the Bulldog lead with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Andy Juc at number one singles. Juc had won three straight matches prior to the loss. The Bulldog’s number two player, eleventh-ranked Nate Schnugg, defeated #106 Bo Ladyman, 7-6, 6-2, to improve the UGA advantage.
Furman got on the board with a win at number four singles. Senior Paladin Daniel Knause posted a 6-4, 6-3 victory against Borja Malo. Paladin freshman Philipp Fuelkell rebounded from a loss in the opening set to force a third set, but fell 6-2, 6-7, 6-4 to #80 Javier Garrapiz as Georgia clinched the match. In the final match of the afternoon, Georgia’s Christian Vitulli and Furman’s Sawyer Duncan split sets to force a super tiebreaker. Vitulli led the tiebreaker 5-3 when the power outage ended the match.
Furman head coach Paul Scarpa remains at 819 career wins and tied for the NCAA record. Scarpa’s next chance at the record happens next Friday, March 6 when Furman travels north to face Yale University. The match is set to being at 2 p.m.
Princeton 5, College of Charleston 2
PRINCETON, N.J. ? The College of Charleston men’s tennis team dropped a 5-2 decision to Princeton on Sunday afternoon.
With the loss, the Cougars fell to 2-4 on the season, while Princeton improved to 4-3 on the year with the win.
In doubles, Princeton swept three matches to earn a team point and in singles action won four of the six matches played to earn five points and the victory.
The Cougars won two matches on the day in singles action, as Lukas Koncilia (Tyrol, Australia) was a straight set winner at the number two spot and Tom Delme (Hamoir, Belgium) was also a straight set victor at number four singles.
The Cougars return to action this afternoon when they take on Columbia at 2 p.m.