BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Citadel men's tennis team returned to action for the first time in close to three weeks, traveling to Samford for a Southern Conference match. The visiting Bulldogs pushed the home team to the brink, but ultimately fell 6-1 despite forcing four singles matches to decisive third sets.

Match Information
Location: Birmingham, Ala. (Samford Tennis Center)
Final Score: Samford 6, The Citadel 1
Records: Samford (10-9, 2-4 SoCon), The Citadel (9-22, 0-5 SoCon) 
 

• Samford swept the doubles action to start the match, but Will Graham and Willem van Zyl forced their No. 3 doubles matchup to a tiebreaker, falling 7-5 to Mohamed Ali Bellalouna and Rossouw Norval.
• In singles action, senior Roy Hobson claimed the Bulldogs' point at No. 1 singles with a 6-3, 7-6 win over Norval. The win marked Hobson's 44^th career singles win and seventh at No. 1.
• Jack Pyritz, Noah Nawabi, Gavin Stewart and Phillip Quinn all forced their singles matches to three sets.
• Stewart jumped out to an early 6-3 lead over Bellalouna, but Samford's No. 5 player was able to come back and hold on for a couple of close, 7-6 wins in the final two sets.
• Similarly, Quinn jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first set at No. 6, but Jack Lyttle came back to claim the second set by a score of 6-3. Lyttle closed out the match with a 6-0 decision in the final set.
• At No. 2 singles, Pyritz bounced back from a 6-3 loss in the first set to Daniel Orlita, claiming set No. 2, 6-3, but Orlita managed to edge out a 6-3 win of his own in the third set to claim the point.
• Nawabi's No. 4 singles matchup with Max Rebol started off similarly to the No. 2 matchup as Rebol claimed the first set by a score of 6-1, but Nawabi also rebounded for a 6-4 win in the second set. Rebol won the third set 6-3.

Match Results
Doubles
1. Daniel Orlita / Jack Lyttle (Samford) def. Roy Hobson / Gavin Stewart (The Citadel) 6-3
2. Aleksandar Petrovic / Max Rebol (Samford) def. Phillip Quinn / Noah Nawabi (The Citadel) 6-2
3. Mohamed Ali Bellalouna / Rossouw Norval (Samford) def. Will Graham / Willem van Zyl (The Citadel) 7-5

Singles
1. Hobson (The Citadel) def. Norval (Samford) 6-3, 7-6
2. Orlita (Samford) def. Jack Pyritz (The Citadel) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
3. Petrovic (Samford) def. van Zyl (The Citadel) 6-1, 6-1
4. Rebol (Samford) def. Nawabi (The Citadel) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
5. Bellalouna (Samford) def. Stewart (The Citadel) 3-6, 7-6, 7-6
6. Lyttle (Samford) def. Quinn (The Citadel) 2-6, 6-3, 6-0

QUOTABLES FROM COACH KRIESE
"We were in a frying pan all day cooking with Samford," said head coach Chuck Kriese. "One of the first things you have to do is be good enough to push matches to the end. We have been doing that all year and just have not been able to get over the hump. I give a lot of credit to Samford for their guys holding strong and playing better than us at the end. We are going to continue to keep on keeping on and try to keep competing at this level. I have been through this enough times to know that this is how you break through. We cannot go backwards mentally or emotionally. There is a lot left to play for and we have got to keep believing and working hard."

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs were originally scheduled to play at Alabama-Huntsville on Friday, April 12, but that match has been cancelled due to constant, heavy rains expected in the area. The 'Dogs will instead head to ETSU for a 2 p.m. match on Saturday, April 13.

For more information and score updates on The Citadel men's tennis team, please visit CitadelSports.com and follow @CitadelMten on Twitter and @CitadelSports on Twitter and Instagram.