UNC Greensboro 5, Samford 2
GREENSBORO, N.C. --- The Samford University men's tennis team suffered its second straight hard-fought Southern Conference loss Sunday as the Bulldogs were defeated by the UNC Greensboro Spartans 5-2 in a road matchup held at the UNCG Tennis Complex.
With the loss, Samford (8-4, 0-3 SoCon) remained winless in conference play and dropped its record to 3-2 in road matches. Sunday's battle was the Bulldogs' second contest of their current five-match road trip.
With its 5-2 victory Sunday, UNC Greensboro (9-2, 3-0 SoCon) extended its home winning streak to seven-consecutive matches and remained undefeated in SoCon play.
The Spartans claimed the doubles point against Samford and then rallied for singles victories on courts No. 1, No. 2, No. 5 and No. 6.
The Bulldogs' singles wins occurred on courts No. 3 and No. 4 as Carson Kadi and Carl Abalos both registered victories. Kadi, Samford's sophomore from New Orleans, La., cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 triumph against UNC Greensboro's Jacob Wright in the No. 3 singles match, while Abalos outlasted Yaroslav Litus on court No. 4, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5).
With his straight-set victory on court No. 3, the Bulldogs' Kadi extended his winning streak to four-consecutive matches. He also improved his spring record to 7-4.
In doubles play, Samford's combination of Scott Foster and Abalos picked up an 8-4 win against UNC Greensboro's tandem of Kyle Eddins and William John on court No. 3.
Elon 7, Chattanooga 0
ELON, N.C. - After battling out a tight doubles point, the Elon men's tennis team seized momentum and rolled to a 7-0 victory over the visiting Chattanooga Mocs in Southern Conference action from The Jimmy Powell Tennis Center on Sunday afternoon. The Phoenix (4-8, 3-0) has won four straight home matches and now prepares for an upcoming four-match road trip. Chattanooga dropped to 1-10 overall and 0-4 in conference action.
Elon's Chase Helpingstine and Alberto Rojas gave up only one game in two matches this weekend, quickly dispatching of Chattanooga's Chris Smith and Stephen Crofford, 8-1, at the top doubles spot. The tandem is 5-2 on the season, having won four straight. The remaining doubles matches were fiercely contested. An ace by Phoenix junior Philip Nemec clinched the number two match and the doubles point for Elon as Nemec and Cody Stauffer-MacDowell defeated Jackson Tresnan and Roberto Vierira, 8-5. Eric Turner followed suit, using an ace to secure an 8-5 Elon victory at number three. Turner and senior Clark Howell won their first match as a doubles team, earning the win over Ryan Pool and Rick van de Bovenkamp.
Rojas was the first off the singles courts for the Phoenix, needed only 42 minutes and dropping just one game in a 6-0, 6-1 result against van de Bovenkamp at number three. Nemec added to the Elon advantage with a 6-1, 6-4 win against Pool at position one. Nemec has won his last four bouts.
Helpingstine earned the match-clinching victory, winning his eighth match of the year with a 6-2, 6-1 decision against Tresnan at number two. Rookie Carlos Arboleda earned a 6-2, 6-2 win over Parfitt at number five and Stauffer-MacDowell made it 6-0 in Elon's favor with a 6-1, 6-3 defeat of Matt Harris at number four.
Thomas Darling put together a strong performance, battling back for the win after dropping set one. Darling rebounded for a 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-2) victory over William Disterdick in the final singles match.
The Citadel 4, Georgia Southern 3
College of Charleston 5, Georgia Southern 2
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Georgia Southern pushed its opponents to the final brink, but dropped a pair of tough matches on the road Sunday (March 14). Completing a match suspended due to rain, GS dropped a 4-3 decision to The Citadel before falling 5-2 at College of Charleston.
The losses dropped Georgia Southern to 4-10, 0-4 on the year.
Resuming play early Sunday against The Citadel, Georgia Southern held a 3-1 lead, but the Bulldogs used the doubles point to secure the win.
With the doubles matches even at 1-all, the point came down to the top seed where Jayraj Jadeja and Justin Flynn were drawing Yufo Sutantio and Alberto Diaz into a tiebreak. The Bulldog pair clinched the point with the tiebreak win.
The Eagles took a comfortable lead, 3-1, with singles wins from the six, two and four seeds. Matthijs Verdam downed Tripp Larkin in straight 6-1, 6-2 sets, before Juan Manuel Melian Puigventos gave the Eagles their first lead with a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 2. Gregory Bekkers extended GS's lead to 3-1 winning a three set decision, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, over Derek Dickey at the four seed, but the lead would be short-lived.
The Citadel captured the next three singles matches to claim the Southern Conference victory. David Orces won a straight set decision at No. 3, before Luis Morett tied the match at 3-all with a triumph at No. 5. Battling in a third set at the top seed were Jadeja and Sutantio. Jadeja took the first set, but Sutantio rebounded with the second, 6-4, and won the third by the same ledger to secure the win for the Bulldogs.
In afternoon competition, the Eagles suffered a hard fought doubles point as the Cougars took the early lead with two doubles wins. CofC clinched the win using four singles victories, but the Eagles claimed wins from Melian Puigventos at the two seed and Verdam at the five seed.
The pair also teamed up for a win at No. 2 doubles to begin play.
Melian Puigventos handled Mickael Trintignac in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1 at No. 2 singles, while Verdam downed Joe Nicolazzi in a super tiebreak. The Eagle faltered in the first set, 6-2, but claimed the second, 7-6, and proved victorious in the tiebreak, 10-6. But those would be the only victories for GS as the Eagles suffered a loss at Patriots Point.