Samford 6, Eastern Kentucky 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University men’s tennis team rekindled memories of its distant Ohio Valley Conference past Thursday as the Bulldogs breezed to a 6-1 victory over former OVC-foe Eastern Kentucky in a nonconference duel held at the Samford Tennis Center.
“I am pleased with the way the guys performed today,” said Samford head coach Rahim Esmail. “We got ourselves into situations on many courts where we needed to find ways to win, and we were able to do that. We found a way to win the doubles point, which helped us with the momentum.”
Samford (3-7) rallied to claim the all-important doubles point Thursday and garnered an early 1-0 advantage in the match.
Despite losing the No. 1 doubles contest, 8-5, the Bulldogs bounced back to record victories on courts No. 2 and No. 3. In the No. 3 matchup, Samford’s combination of Austin Akers and Fares Kilani tallied a key 8-4 triumph, while the Bulldogs’ tandem of Elliot Barnwell and Liam Sullivan posted a decisive 8-5 win over the Colonels’ combination of Sebastian Mueller and Diego Asis on court No. 2.
Samford dominated singles play Thursday, while Eastern Kentucky’s (6-6) lone victory of day occurred at court No. 5 where Florian Graskamp notched a 6-3, 7-6 (5) win.
The Bulldogs proved to be triumphant on courts No. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6; three of which were registered in straight sets.
On court No. 1, Samford’s Barnwell cruised to a dominant, 6-2, 6-2, victory over the Colonels’ Alex Alvaro. With his victory, the Bulldogs’ senior native of Mancetter, United Kingdom, improved to 6-4 in dual-match play this season.
“Elliot continues to do a great job at the top of our lineup and perform at a high standard,” Esmail said. “I thought Liam did a great job today at No. 6, finding a way to win and being disciplined with his tactics. That was the difference in his match when it got close in the second set. We are happy to get out of here with a win and hope to gain some confidence from it as a team and carry that in to this weekend.”
Also winning Thursday were Kilani, Akers, Sullivan and Trey Carter. In the No. 6 singles match, Samford’s Sullivan improved to 4-5 in singles play this season with a 6-2, 7-6 (4) victory over Eastern Kentucky’s Asis.
The Samford University men’s tennis team will next be in action Sunday at 10 a.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs continue their three-match homestand against the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns in another key nonconference contest to be held at the Samford Tennis Center.
Chattanooga 6, Murray State 0
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s tennis team won its third match in a row with a 6-0 shutout against Murray State this afternoon. Chattanooga (5-7, 1-2 SoCon) battled both the cold temperatures and a strong opponent but still managed to blank the Racers.
“I hope that the guys enjoy the win streak,” head coach Carlos Garcia said. “I cherish it and I hope they do too. It’s not easy. Today was a tough day with the temperatures and the wind.”
The original match against Murray State was scheduled for Feb. 9 however due to inclement weather it was pushed back to this afternoon.
“It’s always fun to play Murray State,” Garcia said. “I love our rivalry, and it’s nice to get a win on our home courts.”
Due to the chilly temperatures in Chattanooga the match started with singles and was concluded once singles were finished.
UTC jumped to an early lead behind the play of senior Jorge Varon and sophomores Gino Delavalle and John Peacey. They didn’t drop more than two games to any of their opponents. Shortly after was the finish by sophomore Luke Saunders at No. 3 that clinched the match for Chattanooga.
The fight from Murray State came at No. 1 and No. 6. UTC junior Pavels Grigorjevs and freshman Derrick Brown found themselves down a set early but pulled it out with back-to-back wins in their matches.
“The guys were struggling a little bit, but I think they ended up figuring it out,” Garcia said.
With their momentum moving forward, the Mocs will host another conference match at the UTC Tennis Courts against Davidson on March 23.
Bethune-Cookman 5, Appalachian State 2
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Appalachian State University men’s tennis dropped its fourth-straight match in a 5-2 loss at Bethune-Cookman on Thursday at City Island Tennis Courts.
The Mountaineers (4-5) were able to pick up wins at No. 2 and No. 3 singles, but were swept in doubles play and dropped two singles matches that went to decisive third sets.
Daniel Hoang bounced back from a first-set loss to snag a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 win at the No. 2 spot. The victory pushed Hoang’s record to 5-4 overall and 2-0 when playing at No. 2. Jack Maddocks, who made his first appearance of the season at No. 3, earned a 6-2, 6-1 win to improve to 5-4 on the year.
Matt Saltsgaver, who was moved up to the No. 4 spot from his normal position at No. 6, dropped a tight match by a 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 final and Robert Jenkins fell by a 7-6, 1-6, 6-3 tally at No. 6 singles in just his second outing of the year.
The Wildcats (3-12) picked up straight-set wins at No. 1 and No. 5 to close things out, but Appalachian’s Oliver Casey did put up a solid fight at No. 1, falling 7-5, 6-4.
The Mountaineers will cap off their week in the Sunshine State when they face Florida A&M in a neutral-site match tomorrow at noon in Daytona Beach.
Charlotte 6, Wofford 1
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Wofford men's tennis team fell to Charlotte, 6-1, Thursday afternoon at the Halton-Wagner Tennis Complex.
The Terriers fall to 6-7 overall with the loss and Charlotte improves to 8-3 overall with the win.
The 49ers won the doubles point to take an early 1-0 lead. Forrest Edwards and Paul Cisti won at No. 2, 8-6, and Alex Calott and Nate Shanok won at No. 3, 8-3, to earn the doubles point.
In singles play, sophomore Parks Thompson was the only Wofford player to earn a point. He defeated Shanok, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, at the No. 6 singles position making the final score 6-1.
The Terriers return to action on Thursday, March 20, when they travel to Davidson College for Southern Conference action at 3 p.m. They return home on Sunday, March 23, when they host UNCG at the John. E Reeves Tennis Center at 1 p.m.
Cal Poly 6, Furman 1
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Cal Poly clinched the doubles point and won the top five singles matches, three in three sets, to defeat Furman, 6-1, Thursday at the Mustang Courts in San Luis Obispo, Calif., in the Paladins’ Spring Break finale.
The Mustangs won the top two doubles matches in tiebreakers to claim the opening point. Marco Comuzzo and Matt Thomson teamed up for an 8-7(3) win over junior Jacob Behal and freshman Adam Steryous in the top-flighted contest, then the duo of Devin Barber and Corey Pang defeated senior Joel Cook and sophomore Matt Browne, 8-7(6) at flight two. The number three doubles match was unfinished.
Four of the six singles matches lasted three sets, with sophomore Ben Horst claiming the Paladins’ lone point with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory over Naveen Beasley at flight six.
In the number one singles match-up, Comuzzo outlasted Steryous, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, while Ben Donovan topped Browne, 6-3, 6-2, at flight two. Pang posted a 6-2, 6-4 win versus Behal at flight three, then Jurgen De Jager held on to beat Cook, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, in a close number four match. At flight five, Gannon Daynes registered a 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-0 win over senior Alex Christ.
Furman (6-7, 1-0 SoCon) returns home for a three-match home stand beginning with a March 18 contest versus Iowa.
Gardner-Webb 5, Georgia Southern 2
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern men's tennis played a nail-biter versus Gardner-Webb University this afternoon, but were defeated 5-2. The Eagles' record drops to 3-11, while the Bulldogs improve to 6-9.
In doubles play, Marco Osorio and Albert Codina Sala defeated Tyler Macy and Brendan Dempsey. 8-2. The pair of Oliver Webb and Christian Kerrigan fell to Pepe Batalla and Benjamin Kaszas, 8-5, and Eagles Kyle Hoffman and Nico DeGroof were upset by Ernest Alberch and Nikita Zverkov, 8-5.
In the singles bracket, Kyle Hoffman dropped to Nikita Zverkov, 6-1, 6-4. GWU's Pepe Batalla earned a win over GSU's Christian Kerrigan, 6-1, 6-4. At No. 4 singles, Marco Osorio defeated Brendan Dempsey 6-1, 7-5, to notch the Eagles' first point on the scoreboard. Albert Codina Sala bumped GSU's score up to 2 by beating Ernest Alberch, 7-5, 6-4. Oliver Webb and Nico DeGroof both played extremely close sets, but were unable to secure the wins for the Eagles.
The Eagles next match is against Mercer at the Wallis Tennis Center on Thursday, March 20th at 2pm.