Samford 5, Furman 2
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Samford University men's tennis team extended its winning streak to six-consecutive matches Friday as the Bulldogs posted a 5-2 Southern Conference victory over the Furman Paladins in the third contest of their current four-match homestand being held at the Samford Tennis Center.
Samford (9-2, 3-0 SoCon) swept the doubles point with a trio of 8-4 victories and garnered an early 1-0 lead in Friday's match.
With its victory on court No. 3 over the Paladins' duo of Watson George and Nate Collins, the Bulldogs' doubles tandem comprised of Fernando Costa and Carson Kadi improved to 8-3 on the season. Samford's pairing of Costa and Kadi has been victorious in six-consecutive matches, a streak that coincides with the team's current winning streak.
The Bulldogs' No. 1 doubles team of Zac Dunkle and Alexander Sajonz improved its record on the season to 7-4 by defeating Furman's (3-10, 0-1 SoCon) pair of Alex Christ and Joel Cook.
After winning the doubles point, Samford quickly received straight-set singles wins from Dunkle, Kadi and Elliot Barnwell. In a highly-anticipated matchup on court No. 1, the Bulldogs' Dunkle knocked off the nation's 110-ranked player, Andrew Mellow, 6-3, 7-5. With the victory, Dunkle improved to 9-2 in singles play this season and tallied Samford's first win over a ranked opponent this year.
The Bulldogs' Barnwell and Kadi both improved their identical winning streaks in singles play to five matches Friday.
On court No. 2, Samford's Kadi earned a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Furman's Christ, while Barnwell improved his team-best singles record to 10-1 this season with a 6-4, 6-3 triumph over the Paladins' Jacob Behal in the No. 3 contest.
The Bulldogs' fifth point came on court No. 5 as Sajonz outlasted Furman's Robbie Aru in a three-set victory, 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (2). With the victory, Sajonz moved to 6-4 in singles play this season.
Appalachian State 7, Bethune-Cookman 0
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Following the Mountaineers victory over Jacksonville on Tuesday, Appalachian State University men's tennis swept Bethune-Cookman, 7-0, in nonconference action on Friday. The Mountaineers (6-4, 0-1 SoCon) earned their first shutout of the season, while Bethune-Cookman (8-10) has lost five straight.
Mountaineers Steve Karendal and Zeke Sansing scored the biggest win in doubles, scoring an 8-2 victory at No. 3. Seniors Alex Markov and Alain Humblet followed with an 8-4 margin at No. 2, while senior Philip Kloc and sophomore Sebastien King tacked on an 8-6 win at No. 1 doubles for the easy doubles point.
In singles action, sophomore Matt Saltsgaver recorded the most comfortable win, 6-0, 6-4 at No. 6. At No. 5, Andrew McKinnon sneaked out a first-set tiebreaker and cruised to his victory, 7-6, 6-2.
Appalachian's top singles player, Markov won his first set with relative ease, 6-3, before needing an extra game to close the second set, 7-5.
Kloc also had a two-set victory, needing a tiebreaker in the latter for a 6-4, 7-6 win at No. 2, while Humblet managed to find an edge in both sets at No. 3, 7-5, 6-4.
King took his first set 6-4 before faltering in the second. He collected himself for the supertiebreaker and won the No. 4 match, 6-4, 0-6, 1-0(10-7).
Appalachian State returns to North Carolina for its next match, a 2:30 p.m. showdown against Charlotte on Wednesday, March 21.