Elon and Samford Advance to Men's Title Match

Elon 4, Chattanooga 1

Box Score

ELON, N.C. – Juan Madrid’s three-set win at No. 6 singles clinched Elon’s 4-1 victory over Chattanooga to send the Phoenix to Sunday’s finals of the 2013 Southern Conference Tournament.  Madrid bested UTC’s Jackson Tresnan (6-3, 0-6, 6-2) to seal the team victory.

After claiming the doubles point, top-seeded Elon picked up victories from Jordan Kaufman and Robert Lindgren to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the match.  Kaufman came away with a straight-sets win over Chris Smith (6-2, 6-4) at No. 4 singles before Lindgren topped Ankit Chopra (6-2, 7-6) at No. 3 singles.

Manuel Barroetavena kept the fifth-seeded Mocs alive with win at No. 2 singles over Stefan Fortmann (6-4, 6-3) to pull the Mocs to within two (3-1).

The Phoenix opened the match by claiming the doubles point with victories at the top two positions.  Cameron Silverman and Stefan Fortmann improved their record to 15-4 this spring with an 8-5 victory over Roberto Vieira and Ankit Chopra at No. 1 doubles.  Brian Kowalski and Robert Lindgren helped Elon cinch the doubles point with an 8-6 victory over Chris Smith and John Peacey.

Elon improves to 17-7 on the season, while the Mocs conclude their 2013 campaign at 12-9.

 

Samford 4, College of Charleston 1

Box Score

ELON, N.C. – The No. 2 seed Samford Bulldogs topped third-seeded College of Charleston, 4-1, in Saturday’s semifinal of the 2013 Southern Conference Men’s Tennis Tournament.  The Bulldogs advance to Sunday’s title match where they will take on the top-seeded Elon Phoenix.

Samford opened the match with doubles victories at No. 2 and No. 3.  Fares Kilani and Alex Sajonz defeated Alon Faiman and Zack Lewis, 8-3 at No. 3 doubles.  Austin Akers and Garrison Laduca then held off Sebastian Lopez and Crescente Lesser in a tight battle at No. 2 doubles (9-7).

The Cougars quickly tied the match (1-1) after a 6-4, 6-2 victory by Faimon over Laduca at No. 6 singles.

The Bulldogs responded by winning the next three singles matches to claim the team victory.  Akers defeated Lewis in straight sets (6-1, 6-3) at No. 5 singles to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead in the match. 

Fares Kilani gave Samford a 3-1 lead with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Lesser at the third position before Sajonz’s win at No. 4 singles sealed the win.  Sajonz knocked off Charlie Ghriskey (7-6, 6-2) to send the Bulldogs through to Sunday’s title match.

Samford improved to 14-9 with Saturday’s victory, while College of Charleston finished the season at 13-9.