ETSU 4, Furman 0
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - In a matchup of the Southern Conference's lone unbeaten teams, ETSU prevailed Saturday, defeating Furman, 4-0, to clinch the SoCon regular season title.
The Buccaneers (14-7, 7-0 SoCon), winners of 10 consecutive matches, have posted a 13-1 record since Feb. 14, with the lone loss coming on the road to No. 5 Georgia.
ETSU has now won either a regular season or tournament championship in 14 consecutive seasons dating back to 2002.
While ETSU's win versus the Paladins (7-15, 5-1 SoCon) was a marquee one, Zaatini and the Buccaneers will now shift their focus to the upcoming Southern Conference Men's Tennis Championship, which will be held April 24-26 in Spartanburg, S.C. (quarterfinals) and Greenville, S.C. (semifinals and final).
Samford 7, The Citadel 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University men’s tennis team closed out its 2015 regular season in style Saturday as the Bulldogs cruised to a 7-0 triumph over The Citadel Bulldogs in a Southern Conference matchup held at the Samford Tennis Center.
With Saturday’s victory, Samford (9-10, 3-4 SoCon) closed out its 2015 regular season with a four-match home winning streak and with a 6-3 record when playing at the Samford Tennis Center.
The Bulldogs opened their meeting with The Citadel (2-29, 0-7 SoCon) by winning the doubles point and taking an early 1-0 advantage.
On court No. 1, the Cadets’ tandem of Artemie Amari and Peter Bleach earned a slight 8-7 victory, but then Samford swept the final two doubles matches on courts No. 2 and No. 3. The Bulldogs’ combination of Austin Akers and Austin Heinz breezed to an 8-2 triumph in the No. 2 doubles contest, while Fares Kilani and Justin Ghavami rolled to an 8-3 on court No. 3.
Samford’s most successful doubles position has been the No. 3 matchup this season. The Bulldogs own a 22-27 overall record in dual-match play, while they are 10-7 on court No. 3.
In singles play Saturday, Samford proved to be triumphant in straight sets on five of the six courts. The lone three-set contest occurred on court No. 4 where Ghavami held off the Cadets’ Pride, 7-5, 1-6, 6-3. With his win, true freshman Ghavami improved to 11-7 in dual-match play this spring.
The Citadel closed out its regular-season schedule with a 23-match losing streak. The Cadets’ last victory occurred Feb. 6, in a 5-2 neutral-site win over Murray State held at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. On Jan. 17, The Citadel also earned a 7-0 win against Spartanburg Methodist.