HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Taking on an in-state team for the second straight day, Alabama A&M (1-5, 1-1 SWAC) fell by a 7-0 score to Samford (5-5, 0-0 SoCon) in an NCAA Division I men's tennis match on Saturday, March 7.
Samford took the early lead in doubles as Tomas Santantonio and Eladio Fabregas posted a 6-0 victory over redshirt-senior
Gjorgji Popovski (Skopje, Macedonia) and junior Cheng Yang Chang (Koahsiung, Taiwan) at No. 2 but would have to fight to get the point.
Sophomore
Natiphat Mulada (Korat, Thailand) and senior
Fermin Ruiz Crespo (Mollina, Spain) delivered a commanding 6-1 victory at No. 3 that knotted things up and put the point in play. And it would be fairly evenly matched at No. 1 as Victor Chaw and Jim Hendrix narrowly earned a 6-4 decision over juniors
Rodrigo Arana Rios (Playa Del Carmen, Mexico) and
Panji Setiawan (South Jakarta, Indonesia) to make it 1-0 for the match.
After a competitive doubles portion, Samford wasted no time during singles as Santantonio delivered a 6-0, 6-1 decision at No. 6 over freshman
Austin Smith (Montgomery, Ala.). M.A. Bllalouna would follow with a victory at No. 5 over Yang by that same score before Setiawan dropped a 6-0 opening set against Fabregas before falling 6-4 in the second frame to clinch the match victory for SU.
Rounding out the match were Jim Hendrix with a 6-0, 6-4 win over Popovski at No. 3, a 6-3, 6-1 decision by Chaw over
Fermin Ruiz Crespo at the second spot and a competitive 6-3, 6-3 effort at No. 1 between Rossouw Norval and Arana Rios.
Alabama A&M closes out a three-match homestand as they host Belmont tomorrow, Sunday, March 7 at the Huntsville Tennis Center. First serve is set for 2 p.m.
SAMFORD 7, ALABAMA A&M 0
Doubles
1. Victor Chaw/Jim Hendrix def.
Panji Setiawan/
Rodrigo Arana Rios 6-4
2. Tomas Santantonio/Eladio Fabregas def.
Cheng Chang Yang/
Gjorgji Popovski 6-0
3.
Natiphat Mulada/
Fermin Ruiz Crespo def. Rossouw Norval/M.A. Bellalouna 6-1
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles
No. 1. Rossouw Norval def.
Rodrigo Arana Rios 6-3, 6-3
No. 2. Victor Chaw def.
Fermin Ruiz Crespo 6-1, 6-3
No. 3. Jim Hendrix def.
Gjorgji Popovski 6-0, 6-4
No. 4. Eladio Fabregas def.
Panji Setiawan 6-0, 6-4
No. 5. M.A. Bellalouna def.
Cheng Chang Yang 6-0, 6-1
No. 6. Tomas Santantonio def.
Austin Smith 6-0, 6-1
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
