SPARTANBURG, S.C. --- The Samford University men's tennis team picked up its biggest road victory of the 2011 campaign Friday as the Bulldogs rallied in singles play for a key 4-3 win against the Wofford Terriers in a critical Southern Conference contest held at the Reeves Tennis Center.
With the victory, Samford (15-6, 5-4 SoCon) kept its hopes alive for earning an all-important first-round bye in next week's SoCon Tournament to be held in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Bulldogs also snapped a two-match losing streak which featured hard-fought setbacks against College of Charleston and Appalachian State.
Wofford (8-11, 4-5 SoCon) also entered Friday's match in a tie for fifth place in the conference standings, but moved out of contention for the first-round bye with its loss to Samford.
The Bulldogs lost Friday's doubles point to the Terriers, but then received victories in singles play from Carl Abalos, Oliver Reynolds, Fernando Costa and Alexander Sajonz to earn the come-from-behind 4-3 triumph. At one point, Samford trailed 3-2 in the match before the Bulldogs earned wins from Sajonz on court No. 6, 7-5, 6-2, and Reynolds on court No. 4 to clinch the team victory, 6-7(7), 7-5, 6-3.
In the doubles portion of Friday's match, Samford's No. 3 combination of Carson Kadi and Costa defeated Wofford's duo comprised of Michael Schecter and Jack Seiffert 8-7(5).The win improved the Bulldog tandem's record to 9-6, but proved to be Samford's lone victory in doubles play.
The Terriers entered singles play with a 1-0 lead, but the Bulldogs quickly took a 2-1 advantage with wins from Abalos on court No. 3 and Costa on court No. 5. With their respective singles victories, Abalos improved his record to 15-5 this season, while Costa moved to 14-6.
Following Costa's straight-set triumph over Wofford's Drew Superstein 6-3, 6-2, the Terriers garnered a 3-2 lead in the match with back-to-back wins on courts No. 2 and No. 1. After Wofford's consecutive victories, Samford needed wins in the final two singles contests to earn the key SoCon triumph.
On court No. 6, the Bulldogs' Sajonz defeated the Terriers' Paul Bartholomy 7-5, 6-2 to make the score of the match 3-3. Sajonz improved his record on the season to 14-5 with the victory.
In the final singles contest of the day, Samford's Reynolds clinched the team's comeback win by outlasting Wofford's Alan Donald on court No. 4. With his decisive victory, Reynolds improved his singles record to 16-4.