Men's Tennis Southern Conference

Bulldogs Top Blazers Wednesday

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University men’s tennis team picked up some valuable early-season momentum Wednesday as the Bulldogs earned a 5-2 victory against the UAB Blazers in a cross-town rivalry match held indoors at the Samford Tennis Center.
 
With the win, Samford (1-4) bid adieu to its season-opening, four-match losing streak and improved to 1-1 when playing at home in 2015. Two of the Bulldogs’ losses this year have come on the road against nationally-ranked opponents at No. 36 Alabama and No. 28 Mississippi State.
 
Samford will continue its three-match homestand Saturday against Lipscomb.
 
The Bulldogs earned the all-important doubles point Wednesday by tallying victories on courts No. 2 and No. 3. UAB (2-4) garnered its lone win in doubles play on court No. 1 with a 6-4 triumph from the pairing of Mitchell Martell and Luiz Felipe Pinto.
 
Samford’s victories were earned by the following tandems comprised of Henry Moore and Austin Akers on court No. 2 and Fares Kilani and Eduardo Lourido Sanchez in the No. 3 doubles matchup.
 
The Bulldogs’ Kilani and Lourido Sanchez cruised to a 6-2 win on court No. 3, while Moore and Akers rallied to clinch the doubles point with a hard-fought 7-5 triumph over the Blazers’ Christian Coetzee and Donovan McSeveney in the rubber match on court No. 2. Both of the aforementioned Samford doubles tandems improved to 2-2 on the season.
 
In singles play, Samford earned straight-set victories from Kilani, Justin Ghavami and Lourido Sanchez to solidify the Bulldogs’ non-conference win Wednesday.
 
On court No. 1, Kilani held off UAB’s Martell, 6-2, 7-6(4), while Ghavami registered a 6-3, 7-5 triumph over the Blazers’ Pinto in the No. 4 singles contest. On court No. 5, Samford’s Lourido Sanchez cruised to a 6-2, 6-3 win over UAB’s Stepan Vancurick.
 
The Bulldogs’ true freshmen Ghavami and Lourido-Sanchez both picked up the first dual-match singles victories of their career.
 
Samford’s final singles win occurred Wednesday on court No. 2 as Akers fought off match-point en route to a thrilling 2-6, 7-6(6), 6-1, victory over the Blazers’ McSeveney on court No. 2. With his triumph, Akers helped the Bulldogs secure the 5-2 decision.
 
On the season, Akers improved to 2-2 in No. 2 singles matches.