Georgia Southern 4, Samford 3
STATESBORO, Ga. – The Samford University men’s tennis team dropped its second-straight, hard-fought 4-3 decision Friday as the Bulldogs fell just short in a Southern Conference duel against the Georgia Southern Eagles held at the Hanner Tennis Complex.
With the loss, Samford (11-9, 6-3 SoCon) moved to 4-7 on the road this season and suffered a back-to-back road defeat. On Sunday, the Bulldogs came up just short in a similar 4-3 setback at Furman held in Greenville, S.C.
Samford lost the doubles point versus Georgia Southern (10-7, 6-3 SoCon) Friday and later found itself down 3-1 halfway through singles play.
The Bulldogs’ Fares Kilani, the reigning SoCon Player of the Week, defeated the Eagles’ Matthijs Verdam, 6-3, 6-2, on court No. 3, while Georgia Southern concurrently tallied singles victories on courts No. 1 and No. 5 to take a 3-1 advantage.
With its back against the wall, Samford nearly rebounded to even the match at 3-3 as Alex Sajonz rallied for a three-set victory on court No. 4. His victory pulled the Bulldogs to within 3-2, while he also improved to 12-8 in dual-match play this season.
The Eagles then clinched the overall victory of Wednesday’s contest in the No. 2 singles match as A. Codina Sala tallied a come-from-behind win against Samford’s Elliot Barnwell, 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-3.
After Georgia Southern secured the 4-2 victory, the Bulldogs’ Garrison Laduca made the final score, 4-3 with a gutsy three-set triumph on court No. 6 over Georgia Southern’s Alex Doherty, 6-7(4), 7-6(2), 6-4. The win proved to be Laduca’s 11th triumph in singles play this season.
College of Charleston 5, UNCG 2
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The UNCG men’s tennis team fell in a tough 5-2 decision to College of Charleston Friday, April 12 at Patriots Point in Charleston, S.C.
The Spartans started strong when they won two out of three doubles matches to earn the doubles point.
At No. 1 doubles, freshman James Dougherty and sophomore Randy Phillips beat Brice Allanic and Charlie Ghriskey, 8-3.
Freshman William Albright and junior Jimmy Roueche dropped their match at No. 3, 8-6 to Alon Faiman and Zack Lewis.
Freshman Daniel Mack and junior Ahmet Sarioglu teamed up against Sebastian Lopez and Crescente Lesser to win 8-4 at the No. 2 spot.
In singles play, Mack fell at No. 5 to Lewis, 7-6 (7-3), 6-0, before sophomore Cameron Smith lost 6-1, 6-3 to Faiman at No. 6 singles.
Phillips picked up the first singles win for the Blue and Gold at No. 4 when he took down Ghriskey, 6-3, 6-4, while Dougherty fell short at No. 2 against Lopez, 7-5, 6-4.
At No. 3, Murray lost in a tough three-set match, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 against Lesser, before Sarioglu fought in a close three sets against Allanic at No. 1, but lost 7-6, 3-6, 6-3.
UNCG holds a 14-3 overall record and are 7-3 in the SoCon.
Appalachian State 5, Gardner-Webb 2
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State men’s tennis wrapped up its regular season home slate on a winning note with a 5-2 victory over Gardner-Webb on Friday afternoon at ASU Tennis Courts.
The Mountaineers (5-14, 2-7) honored seniors Steve Karendal, Andrew McKinnon, and Zeke Sansing prior to the match.
Appalachian swept doubles competition with a pair of 8-6 victories at No. 1 and No. 3, while the doubles duo of McKinnon and Jen-Willem Kleynhans picked up an impressive 8-3 win at No. 2 to post the first point.
The Apps owned the first four slots in singles action as Karendal and McKinnon each nailed their matches at No. 1 and No. 4, respectively, with 6-1, 6-0 and 6-2, 6-0 finishes.
Sebastien King and Zach Bost added to the tally with Nos. 2 and 3 victories. King defeated Gardner-Webb’s Piftor, 6-2, 6-4, while Bost rolled past Benjamin Kaszas, 6-2, 6-1.
The Bulldogs (9-9, 3-4 Big South) managed to score two points off the remaining fifth and sixth flights for the 5-2 decision.
The Mountaineers close out regular season play with a road match at Wofford on Saturday, April 13 at 1 p.m.