No. 3 Samford, No. 5 Furman advance to Saturday's Final

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – No. 3 seed Samford and No. 5 seed Furman have advanced to Saturday’s title match of the 2025 Southern Conference Men’s Tennis Championship after picking up semifinal wins Friday. Saturday’s title tilt will start at 1 p.m. The tournament is being contested at the Champions Club.
 
Samford is making its sixth appearance in the finals and Furman its 12^th. This will be the first time these teams have met in the championship match.
 
No. 5 Furman 4, No. 1 ETSU 3
 
Fifth seeded Furman upset the Regular-season champion and five-time defending tournament champion ETSU in Friday’s semifinals, 4-3.

Furman grabbed an early lead when Nico Snyder and Nicolas Dispas defeated Predro Cressoni and James Sims, 6-4, at the No. 3 doubles spot, before Elijah Poritzky and Matt Kandel beat Peter Kalocsai and Martin Garica-Ripoll, 7-5.

The Bucs came back at Kalocsai and Francisco Lamas won at the No. 1 and No. 4 courts, respectively. Kalocsai earned a 6-2, 6-1 win over Poritzky and Lamas beat John Rado 6-0, 6-3. Kandel tied the match at two with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Garcia-Ripoll, before Pedro Cressoni pushed the Bucs back into the lead with a 6-3, 6-1 defeat of Theophile Joly at court three. At No. 5 Walker Allen defeated Juan Andres Listo, 6-4, 6-3 before Snyder clinched for the Paladins with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 triumph over Carlos Gonzales.
 
Singles competition

1. Peter Kalocsai (ETSU) def. Elijah Poritzky (FUR) 6-2, 6-1
2. Matt Kandel (FUR) def. Martin Garcia-Ripoll (ETSU) 6-3, 6-2
3. Pedro Cressoni (ETSU) def. Theophile Joly (FUR) 6-3, 6-1
4. Francisco Lamas (ETSU) def. John Rado (FUR) 6-0, 6-3
5. Walker Allen (FUR) def. Juan Andres Listo (ETSU) 6-4, 6-3
6. Nico Snyder (FUR) def. Carlos Gonzales (ETSU) 7-6 (7-3), 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Elijah Poritzky/Matt Kandel (FUR) def. Peter Kalocsai/Martin Garcia-Ripoll (ETSU) 7-5
2. Francisco Lamas/Juan Andres Listo (ETSU) vs. Cole Burnham/Connor Laymon (FUR) 6-6, unfinished
3. Nico Snyder/Nicolas Dispas (FUR) def. Pedro Cressoni/James Sim (ETSU) 6-4
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 1); Singles (1, 4, 2, 3, 5, 6)
 
*****
 
No. 3 Samford 4, No. 2 Mercer 0
 
Third-seeded Samford defeated No. 2 Mercer, 4-0, Friday to advance to the Southern Conference Tennis Championship finals for the second consecutive year.

Samford’s duo of Victorio Sardinha and Sebastian Harrison won, 6-0, at No. 3 doubles over Mercer’s Howell Burns and Esteban Davila Gasser, with Santiago Arredondo and Sandeep Mohandoss barreling past the Bears’ Hod’Abalo Isak Padio and Amen Prince Gandonou, 6-2, at No. 2 to clinch the point for the Bulldogs.

J.B. Pickard got singles started for Samford as he rolled to a 6-2, 6-2 win over Tom Hagelauer. Will Gray followed with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Mercer’s Howell Burns at No. 6. Sandeep Mohandoss clinched the match for Samford with a 6-2, 6-4 defeat of the Bears’ Nemanja Stefanovic.

Singles competition
1. Sandeep Mohandoss (SAM) def. Nemanja Stefanovic (MER) 6-2, 6-4
2. Isak Padio (MER) vs. Darcy Nicholls (SAM) 7-6 (7-4), 4-1, unfinished
3. Prince Gandonou (MER) vs. Hayden Menon (SAM) 7-5, 3-5, unfinished
4. J.B. Pickard (SAM) def. Tom Hagelauer (MER) 6-2, 6-2
5. Marceau Fouilhoux (MER) vs. Sebastian Harrison (SAM) 7-6 (8-6), 1-0, unfinished
6. Will Gray (SAM) def. Howell Burns (MER) 6-2, 6-1
 
Doubles competition
1. Nemanja Stefanovic/Marceau Fouilhoux (MER) vs. J.B. Pickard/Darcy Nicholls (SAM) 3-5, unfinished
2. Santiago Arredondo/Sandeep Mohandoss (SAM) def. Isak Padio/Prince Gandonou (MER) 6-2
3. Victorio Sardinha/Sebastian Harrison (SAM) def. Howell Burns/Esteban Gasser (MER) 6-1

Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2); Singles (4, 6, 1)  
 
 
2025 SoCon Men’s Tennis Championship
Chattanooga, Tenn. – Champions Club
Thursday, April 17
Match 1: No. 1 ETSU 4, No. 8 The Citadel 0
Match 2: No. 5 Furman 4, No. 4 Chattanooga 3
Match 3: No. 3 Samford 4, No. 6 UNCG 1
Match 4: No. 2 Mercer 4, No. 7 Wofford 0
 
Friday, April 18
Match 5: No. 1 ETSU vs. No. 5 Furman, 10:00 a.m.
Match 6: No. 3 Samford vs. No. 2 Mercer, 10:00 a.m.
 
Saturday, April 19
Match 7: No. 5 Furman vs. No. 3 Samford, 1 p.m.