Samford 4, Jacksonville State 2
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. --- The Samford University men's tennis team remained undefeated on the road this season Wednesday as the Bulldogs tallied a 4-2 victory against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks in a non-conference matchup held at the JSU Tennis Courts.
"We are happy to get out of today with a win," said Samford head coach Rahim Esmail. "We found a way to scrap out the doubles point, which helped us get off to a good start in singles. Ryan Shidler has done a great job the last couple matches of consistently sticking to his game plan, and today it paid off."
With the win, Samford (4-2) bounced back from a tough-luck, two-match losing streak against Conference USA foes UAB, 4-3, and Southern Miss, 4-2, last week. The Bulldogs also improved to 2-0 when playing on the road this season. On Feb. 9, Samford earned a hard-fought 4-3 victory at Troy.
Jacksonville State (2-4) suffered its second straight home loss Wednesday. On Saturday, the Gamecocks were topped by Belmont, 6-1, at the JSU Tennis Courts.
In a hotly-contested doubles competition Wednesday, Samford rallied for wins on courts No. 2 and No. 3 to earn the early 1-0 advantage in the match.
The Bulldogs' No. 3 doubles combination of Fernando Costa and Carson Kadi cruised to an 8-2 victory over Jacksonville State's pairing of Joshua Bourke and Felipe Wenzel, while the Gamecocks' duo comprised of Nenad Marcec and Axel Sundberg held on for a 9-8 win on court No. 1.
In the decisive doubles contest held on court No. 2, Samford's tandem of Elliot Barnwell and Ryan Shidler registered a clutch 9-8 triumph over Jacksonville State's squad of Igor Santos and Felipe Watanabe. The Bulldogs' team of Barnwell and Shidler clinched the doubles point for Samford and improved its record on the season to 3-3 at the No. 2 position.
Samford increased its lead to 3-0 in singles play with quick straight-set victories from Zac Dunkle and Costa.
On court No. 1, Dunkle breezed to a 6-1 win in his first set against the Gamecocks' Sundberg before the Jacksonville State netter retired due to an injury. Dunkle, the reigning Southern Conference Player of the Week, improved to 5-1 in singles play this season and tallied his first victory of the year at the No. 1 position. Dunkle moved to 1-0 when competing on court No. 1.
Costa registered a dominating 6-0, 6-2 triumph in the No. 4 singles match Wednesday to improve to 5-1 in singles play this season.
Samford's match-clinching victory occurred on court No. 6 as Shidler rallied back to knock off Jacksonville State's Bourke, 2-6, 7-5, 6-2. Shidler's win secured the Bulldogs' 4-2 victory as he improved to 1-3 in dual-match play this year.
The Citadel 6, Benedict 1
COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Citadel tennis team captured its first win of the season, defeating Benedict 6-1 on Wednesday in the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
The Dogs rolled past the Tigers, sweeping the doubles point by winning in all three positions. Pairing up for the first time this season, David Orces and Peter Bleach won in the No. 1 position with an 8-1 decision over Zibusiso Ndimande and Shane Latchman. At No. 2, John Armstrong, making his season debut, and Josh Cook defeated the duo of Timothy Thorton and Deangelo Smith 8-0. Rounding out the shutout in doubles, the No. 3 tandem of Elliott Sperr and Alex Howle tallied a victory over Darreus Wheeler and Giovanni Plater 8-1.
In singles, four different Bulldogs claimed their first victory of the season. In an exciting match in No. 2 singles, senior Cook edged past Latchman in the first set to take an early 6-0 lead. Latchman quickly evened the match by taking the second set 6-3, but Cook ultimately prevailed, winning the tiebreak 10-8.
Sophomore James Atkinson overtook Plater in the No. 3 position 6-1, 6-2, to become the second Bulldog to claim his first win of the season. Additionally, freshman Howle, making his first appearance in the No. 4 position, captured a point for The Citadel with a 6-1, 6-2 win.
Sperr, tied with Orces for the team lead with two singles wins on the season, earned a win in the No. 5 position with a 6-3, 6-1 decision over Thornton. Also making his season debut, Justin Wycott earned a point for The Citadel in the No. 6 spot with a captivating 6-0, 6-1 win over Deangelo Smith.
Bleach put on a show in the No. 1 position for The Citadel, but was unable to provide points for the Dogs. After falling behind in the first set to Ndimande, Bleach rallied back to take the second set 6-4 to force a tiebreak that he would eventually lose 10-7.
First year Bulldog assistant coach Oliver Reynolds was inspired with the play of the Bulldogs.
"The guys got off to a great start in doubles, which we have spent a lot of time over the past week and a half working on. They carried it over into singles and played a great match from start to finish."
Clemson 6, Furman 1
GREENVILLE, S.C. - The Clemson men's tennis team slipped past Furman, 6-1, Wednesday afternoon in the Paladins' 2012 home opener at the Mickel Tennis Center in Greenville, S.C.
The Tigers (2-3) swept the doubles matches to open the match. Yannick Maden and Zachary Rigsby teamed up to defeat junior Andrew Mellow and freshman Jacob Behal, 8-4, at number one, while Gerardo Meza and Cedric Willems combined for an 8-4 win over sophomores Alex Christ and Joel Cook in the second doubles spot. The duo of Wes Moran and Dominique Maden notched an 8-3 win over senior Watson George and sophomore Nate Collins in the third doubles match.
In singles action, Christ posted a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over Meza at number two singles to score the Paladins' lone point of the day. Y. Maden defeated Mellow, 6-3, 6-3, in the top spot, and D. Maden beat Behal, 7-6, 6-7, 1-0, at number three singles. In the fourth singles slot, Rigsby tallied a 7-6, 6-1 win over Cook. Willems defeated junior Robbie Aru, 7-6, 6-2, at number five singles, and Moran defeated junior Tyler Droll, 6-4, 7-6, in the sixth singles match-up.
Furman (0-6) will play host to Navy on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.