FLORENCE, Ala. (February 23, 2025) – The University of North Alabama men's tennis team continued its strong play at home Sunday afternoon, securing a second-straight win in a 5-2 triumph over the Samford Bulldogs in Florence.

North Alabama faced the Bulldogs in its second dual in as many days, but UNA showed no signs of fatigue as the Lions powered through en route to their fourth win of the season. Two-straight victories in doubles gave UNA the one-point advantage, then the Lions took three of the first four singles matches to clinch the home win.

Five Lions finished with wins on the day, highlighted by two wins each by sophomores Birtan Duran, Izan Orgiles and Alberto Altur. The three claimed a singles and doubles win, with senior Nazar Fedoryshyn picking up a doubles win with Duran. Freshman Satoru Nakajima rounded out the winners for UNA, using a super tiebreak third set to claim a hard-fought victory.

The win improves North Alabama to 4-2 overall, while Samford fell to 9-3 on the year. The Lions also secured a win versus the Bulldogs for the first time since 1983. Prior to the victory, UNA dropped 14-straight duals against Samford.

Doubles began with wins from the first and second flight, with Duran and Fedoryshyn claiming the first win in a 6-3 victory over Samford's J.B. Pickard and Darcy Nicholls. Orgiles and Altur cemented UNA's doubles point with a 6-4 second-flight win over the Bulldog's Hayden Menon and Sandeep Mohandoss.

Altur carried his momentum from doubles to singles play, locking down the first win with a dominant 6-1, 6-0 victory from flight five over Samford's Sebastian Harrison. Six minutes later, Duran earned UNA's third team point with a 6-2, 6-0 win over the Bulldog's Pickard from court four.

Orgiles was able to clinch the winning team point from court three, but he needed a third set to overcome Samford's Menon. Opening with a 6-4 first-set win, Orgiles was defeated by Menon in the second set with 6-1 score line. The third set was all Orgiles, with the sophomore blanking Menon, 6-0, to lock in North Alabama's team victory.

The remaining matches all went three sets, with the next two falling in favor of Samford. The final match came down to Nakajima facing the Bulldog's Santiago Arredondo, going to a third-set super tiebreak from the sixth flight.

Nakajima battled with Arredondo early but was able to take the opening set, 7-5. The second set went all the way to a tiebreak, but Arredondo overcame a 3-5 set deficit to take the frame, 7-6 (7-3).

The finale came down to two points in the super tiebreaking set, but Nakajima came back from 4-7 down to triumph over Arredondo, 10-8.


North Alabama 5, Samford 2


Doubles

1. Birtan Duran/Nazar Fedoryshyn (UNA) def. J.B. Pickard/Darcy Nicholls (SAM), 6-3
2. Izan Orgiles/Alberto Altur (UNA) def. Hayden Menon/Sandeep Mohandoss (SAM), 6-4
3. Sebastian Harrison/Vitorio Sardinha (SAM) vs. Lachlan Brain/Satoru Nakajima (UNA), 4-3


Order of Finish: (1,2)


Singles

1. Sandeep Mohandoss (SAM) def. Lachlan Brain (UNA), 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
2. Darcy Nicholls (SAM) def. Nazar Fedoryshyn (UNA), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
3. Izan Orgiles (UNA) def. Hayden Menon (SAM), 6-4, 1-6, 6-0
4. Birtan Duran (UNA) def. J.B. Pickard (SAM), 6-2, 6-0
5. Alberto Altur (UNA) def. Sebastian Harrison (SAM), 6-1, 6-0
6. Satoru Nakajima (UNA) def. Santiago Arredondo (SAM), 7-5, 6(3)-7(7), 1(10)-0(8)


Order of Finish: (5,4,3,2,1,6)


Match Notes

North Alabama: 4-2
Samford: 9-3


COMING UP NEXT 

The Lions make the trip to Hattiesburg, Miss. for their next outing, facing the Southern Miss Golden Eagles on Feb. 27 at 2 p.m.

For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.