Samford 6, The Citadel 1
CHARLESTON, S.C. --- The first-place Samford University men's tennis team extended its winning streak to eight-consecutive matches Wednesday as the Bulldogs posted a decisive 6-1 Southern Conference victory against The Citadel Bulldogs in a key league contest held at the Earle Tennis Center.
With the win, Samford (11-2, 5-0 SoCon) remained undefeated in conference play and maintained its significant hold on the first-place position in the SoCon standings. The Bulldogs have not been defeated in well over a month as Samford suffered its last loss on Feb. 11 in a hard-fought 4-2 home defeat against Southern Miss.
Since then, the Bulldogs have rattled off eight-consecutive victories and have outscored their opponents by a total of 43-12.
The Citadel (4-11, 0-5 SoCon), which is in the midst of its first season under the tutelage of former Samford head coach Kemper Baker, dropped its ninth-consecutive match Wednesday.
The Cadets' Baker and Assistant Coach Oliver Reynolds were both members of the Samford tennis team last season. Baker was the head coach of the Bulldogs from 2002 to 2011, while Reynolds was a key senior standout on Samford's 2011 SoCon championship team.
In Wednesday's contest, Samford swept the doubles competition and then received straight-set singles victories from Carson Kadi, Elliot Barnwell, Fernando Costa, Alexander Sajonz and Garrison Laduca. The Bulldogs' five wins in singles play secured Samford's 6-1 team triumph.
Kadi tallied his seventh-straight triumph in singles play on court No. 2, while Sajonz defeated Elliott Sperr in the No. 5 contest to register his third-consecutive victory. With his dominant 6-1, 6-1 win, Sajonz improved his singles record on the season to 8-4. Kadi, who earlier this spring switched to the No. 2 singles position, remained nearly perfect at the spot with a stellar 7-1 record.
On court No. 3, Samford's Elliot Barnwell also extended his winning streak to seven-consecutive matches by earning a 6-3, 6-4 triumph over The Citadel's James Atkinson. With the victory, Barnwell improved his team-leading record in singles play this season to 12-1.
The Bulldogs' sophomore native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Fernando Costa, moved his singles record on the season to 10-3 Wednesday, while Samford's Garrison LaDuca picked up his first dual-match victory with a critical 7-6(3), 6-2 victory over the Cadets' Alex Howle on court No. 6.
North Florida 7, Elon 0
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Elon men's tennis team stepped away from Southern Conference play on Wednesday afternoon, dropping a 7-0 decision to the 50th-ranked North Florida Ospreys at UNF Tennis Complex. The Phoenix fell to 7-9 on the year while the host Ospreys improved to 11-5 overall.
North Florida took the early 1-0 lead after winning three competitive doubles matches, beginning with an 8-5 win on court three as Leonardo Nahar and Graham Edgar defeated freshmen Dan Sablik and Christopher Geaslen. At number one, Daniel Sotomarino and Norbert Nemcsek clinched the point with an 8-4 victory against Elon's Cameron Silverman and Eric Turner. Phoenix rookies Stefan Fortmann and Jordan Kaufman dropped an 8-5 decision to Moritz Buerchner and Pedro Davisson at number two.
Elon played with an altered singles lineup due to injuries with Kaufman moving into the number three spot for only the third time all season. After North Florida earned wins on courts four and five, Kaufman gave Nemcsek all he could handle in the second set but eventually lost in a tiebreaker, 6-3, 7-6 (3), and the Ospreys clinched the match.
One of the tightest matches of the afternoon came at number two, where Fortmann and Sotomarino battled out every point and neither would give up the break. Sotomarino eventually pulled out the 7-6 (6), 7-5 victory, giving Fortmann only his fourth dual loss of the year.
Sablik and Timo Kranz needed three sets to determine a winner, with Kranz ultimately giving North Florida the 6-0 advantage with his 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 result at number six. The top singles match proved entertaining as well, as Buerchner used a victory in the super tiebreaker to top Silverman, 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (6).
Elon will return home and have a weeklong break before hosting Appalachian State on Wednesday, March 28 at 2:30 p.m.
Charlotte 4, Appalachian State 3
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Coming off a pair of wins to conclude spring break, Appalachian State University men's tennis faltered against Charlotte, falling, 3-4, in non-conference action at Halton-Wagner Tennis Complex on Wednesday. The Mountaineers (6-5) look to rebound with a series of five-straight Southern Conference matches, while Charlotte (12-6) picks up a win in its final scheduled home match.
In doubles action, Mountaineer senior Philip Kloc and sophomore Sebastien King paired for an 8-5 win in the No. 1 spot, while seniors Alain Humblet and Alex Markov followed with an 8-6 victory at No. 2 to clinch the doubles point. Charlotte won the No. 3 match, 8-6.
In singles, Markov dominated his No. 1 match, cruising to a 6-3, 6-0 victory. After dropping his first set, Humblet rebounded to take a three-set thriller, putting the Apps within one point of winning the match.
The 49ers regained momentum with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 4 singles. In the No. 6 slot, ASU's Matt Saltsgaver forced a tiebreaker in the first set but his opponent Nate Shanok took control in the second for a 7-6(7-4), 6-0 point.
In the No. 2 match, Kloc evened the match with a second-set win but could not keep up in the decisive set, falling 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 to give the 49ers their third point for a 3-3 deadlock.
Charlotte's advantage came by way of a win at No. 5, as Appalachian's Steve Karendal was forced to retire, falling 3-6, 6-4, 3-4.
The Mountaineers' schedule next continues with a Friday trip to league opponent Georgia Southern at 1 p.m.
East Carolina 5, UNCG 2
GREENVILLE, N.C. - UNCG's men's tennis team could manage only a pair of singles wins in a 5-2 loss at East Carolina on Wednesday. Freshman Randy Phillips won in both singles and doubles play.
Phillips and Chanon Varapongsittikul teamed for an 8-4 win over John Schmitt and Patreik Wolterbeek at No. 2 doubles, but the Pirates (11-6) picked up wins at Nos. 1 and 3 doubles to claim the early 1-0 lead.
Joran Vliegen and Niels Cleeren earned an 8-3 win over Ahmet Sarioglu and Orcun Seyrek at No. 1, while Nicholas Soriano and Damien Brenard downed Jimmy Roueche and Cameron Smith at No. 3, 8-5.
In singles play, Sarioglu ran his winning streak to six matches with a 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 win over Cleeren at No. 2. Phillips picked up a 6-4, 6-4 win over Schmitt at No. 4.
At No. 1, Seyrek saw his five-match winning streak come to an end with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-1 loss to Vliegen. Soriano topped Varapongsittikul by a 6-3, 6-2 count at No. 3, and Brenard defeated Smith at No. 5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
Mario Martinez rounded out the scoring with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Roueche at No. 6 as ECU avenged a 5-2 loss to the Spartans in Greensboro last season.
UNCG (6-8) returns to action at Furman on Friday. That match is set for 3 p.m.