Furman 4, UNCG 3
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Furman won the doubles point and collected three singles victories to slip past UNC Greensboro, 4-3, Saturday at the Mickel Tennis Center in Greenville, S.C.
The Paladins opened the match with consecutive wins in doubles to claim the first point. Senior Joel Cook teamed up with sophomore Matt Browne to down James Dougherty and Randy Phillips, 8-1, in the top match-up, then sophomore Ben Horst and senior Alex Christ topped Nazhone Willkins and Jimmy Roueche, 8-6, at flight three for the point. The Spartans won at flight two, as Ahmet Sarioglu and Daniel Mack defeated junior Jacob Behal and freshman Adam Steryous, 8-7(5).
Furman extended the lead to 2-0 after Cook recorded a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Gaston Murray at flight four, but UNCG tied the match at 2-all with consecutive singles points. Mack bested Christ, 6-2, 6-2, at number five, then Doughery notched a 6-2, 6-4 win versus Behal at flight two.
Steryous put the Paladins back on top, 3-2, with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Sarioglu in the top singles contest, then Horst clinched the team win by defeating Cameron Smith, 6-3, 7-6(3) at flight six. In the final match-up of the day, Phillips tallied a hard-fought, 7-6(2), 7-5, advantage over Luke Synn.
Samford 4, Davidson 3
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Despite competing a man-down with just five players, the battle-tested Samford University men’s tennis team grappled its way to a thrilling 4-3 Southern Conference victory Saturday over the Davidson Wildcats in a key league contest held at the Samford Tennis Center.
With the overall score of the match knotted at 3-3, all attention turned to court No. 5 where true freshman Liam Sullivan of Samford (4-8, 1-2 SoCon) was squaring off against Alex Howard of Davidson (3-12, 0-4 SoCon) in the final singles contest of the day.
Sullivan, the Bulldogs’ talented native of Richmond, Va., lost the first set, 6-4, but then rallied back to topple Howard in the final two stanzas, 6-4, 7-5. With Sullivan’s clutch, three-set triumph, Samford clinched the overall team victory, 4-3, while he improved to 5-6 in singles play this season.
The Bulldogs’ win Saturday snapped a two-match SoCon losing streak and proved to be Samford’s fourth home victory of the 2014 campaign.
Samford has been triumphant in two of its last three outings and will next be in action Monday at The Citadel in a pivotal road SoCon test.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs dropped the doubles point and then quickly fell behind, 2-0, as they were forced to forfeit the No. 6 singles matchup.
Despite its early disadvantage, Samford never wavered and then cruised to straight-set victories on courts No. 1 and No. 2 from Elliot Barnwell and Fares Kilani, respectively. Barnwell defeated Davidson’s Robert Lightbourn, 6-2, 7-6 (4), while Kilani disheartened the Wildcats’ Connor Evins, 7-6 (5), 6-2, on court No. 2.
Barnwell improved to 7-5 in singles play this season as Kilani moved to 6-6 in dual-match play.
Another huge win for the Bulldogs Saturday occurred on court No. 4 where Samford’s Trey Carter outlasted Davidson’s J.B. Gough, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2. With his victory, Carter kept the Bulldogs’ hopes alive in the match and set up his teammate Sullivan for the final triumph.
Samford’s Carter owns a 4-8 record in dual-match play this season.