Elon 4, Chattanooga 3
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Elon men's tennis team picked up its second consecutive Southern Conference victory with a 4-3 road victory over the Chattanooga Mocs at the UTC Tennis Courts on Sunday afternoon. The Phoenix won all three doubles matches before taking three of the first four singles matches to finish en route to the win. Elon (8-5, 2-0) has won five of its last six matches. Chattanooga dropped to 7-8 overall, 2-2 in league play.
Using a couple different doubles combinations, Alberto Rojas and Cody Stauffer-MacDowell earned their first win of the year with an 8-4 defeat of William Disterdick and Rick van de Bovenkamp on court two. Ranked 35th in the country, Elon's top duo of Philip Nemec and Chase Helpingstine clinched the doubles point for the Phoenix with an 8-5 result against Chris Smith and Roberto Vieira. The pair has won eight straight matches and is 9-1 on the season. On court three, Cameron Silverman and Eric Turner moved to 2-1 on the season, defeating Stephen Crofford and Jackson Tresnan, 8-4.
Holding the 1-0 edge heading into singles play, Elon was quick to build on its lead with wins at number four and five. Rojas shutout van de Bovenkamp, 6-0, 6-0, at number five as the senior evened his record to 6-6 on the year. Helpingstine dropped only two games in his 6-2, 6-0 defeat of Matt Harris at number four.
With the score 3-0, Chattanooga finally got on the board as Crofford picked up a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Philip Meyer on court six. The chance at a comeback was short-lived as Turner earned a straight-set win over Tresnan at number two to clinch the match for the Phoenix. Turner posted a 7-5, 6-3 victory.
Number one singles was a hotly contested match as Nemec and Vieira split the first two sets to force a third set. Vieira managed to pull out the 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 victory. On court two, Silverman and Smith also split sets. With the match already determined, the two played a third set tiebreak to determine the winner. Smith managed to come out on top, 7-6, 4-6, 1-0 (6).
Samford 6, The Citadel 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Samford University men's tennis team extended its winning streak to four-consecutive matches Sunday as the Bulldogs rolled to a 6-1 Southern Conference victory against The Citadel Bulldogs in a key conference contest held at the Samford Tennis Center.
With the win, Samford (11-3, 1-1 SoCon) earned its second straight victory at home and remained undefeated since March 10. Following a hard-fought 5-2 conference loss to UNC Greensboro, the Bulldogs have rattled off consecutive wins against Murray State 7-0, No. 44-ranked Saint Leo 8-1, Florida Gulf Coast 7-0 and The Citadel (1-14, 0-5 SoCon) 6-1.
Samford's current four-match winning streak is the team's second-best stretch of the 2011 campaign. Earlier this season, the Bulldogs strung together a six-match winning streak.
On Tuesday, Samford will continue its brief two-match SoCon homestand with a critical showdown against Elon. The teams are scheduled to square off at 2 p.m. (CDT) at the Samford Tennis Center.
In Sunday's contest, Samford swept the doubles matches to take an early 1-0 lead against The Citadel. The Bulldogs' tandem comprised of Alexander Sajonz and Zac Dunkle improved to 12-1 in doubles play this season as they cruised to an 8-2 victory against the Cadets' pairing of Jeremiah Dye and Dillon Berkabile on court No. 2.
Samford was then triumphant in five of the six singles matches to earn its decisive 6-1 conference victory. The Bulldogs' Dunkle, Carl Abalos, Oliver Reynolds, Fernando Costa and Sajonz and tallied straight-set wins. Abalos, Dunkle, Kadi and Reynolds all improved their singles records to 10-3 on the season, while Sajonz won his fourth straight match and moved to 10-2 in 2011.