GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's tennis team meets Samford in a Southern Conference quarterfinal on Thursday at 3:00 p.m. The match will take place at the Champions Club in Chattanooga.
 
This will be UNCG's first SoCon tournament match since 2019 when it lost to Furman in the quarterfinals. UNCG will be looking for its first SoCon Tournament victory since 2017 when it beat Wofford, 4-0, in the first round.
 
Quotable
UNCG head coach Jeff Trivette on the SoCon tournament.
"We are so excited to be able to participate in a conference tournament this year! It has been over 2 years that we have been able to compete for the championship. It has been a long time coming. We are looking forward to playing a much-improved Samford team. It should be a great battle in the first round."
 
Recent History

• UNCG has won two of the last three matches against Samford.
• Samford beat the Spartans in quarterfinals in 2015 and 2018 in the only tournament meetings between the programs.
• However, in this year's regular-season matchup, UNCG cruised past Samford, 5-2 on Sunday, March 6 in Greensboro.
• In that victory, the Spartans rebounded after dropping the doubles point to win five of the six singles matches over the Bulldogs. The Spartans' No. 2 doubles tandem of Nico Grewe and Hampus Johansson needed 23 minutes to win 6-0. 
• Christopher Johns, Roger Rogowski, Grewe, and David Flisberg all prevailed in straight sets to lead UNCG. Hugh Knapp won at No. 3 singles after his opponent retired. Knapp had won the first set by a 6-1 count.

 
A Look At UNCG

• UNCG finished the season with a 6-15 overall record and a 3-4 SoCon mark.
• Included among the wins were triumphs over SoCon foes Samford, The Citadel, and Mercer.
• The Spartans have a trio of players with double digit victories: Knapp (12 wins), Grewe (11), and Rogowski (10).
• Rogowski enters the SoCon tournament with four straight victories at No. 4 singles.
• Grewe earned Southern Conference Player of the Week honors on April 12.
• The doubles tandem of Grewe and Rogowski are 4-2 overall at the No. 1 slot.
• Hugh Knapp and Cooper Wyett are 6-6 overall at No. 2 doubles.

 
A Look At Samford

• Samford enters the tournament with a 6-13 overall record and 4-3 in SoCon mark. 
• The Bulldogs have won three of their last four matches overall
• Samford wrapped up its regular season with a 6-1 win over the Mercer Bears last Saturday afternoon at the Samford Tennis Center.
• Samford won five of the six singles matches against Mercer.
• The Bulldogs' top player has been M.A. Bellalouna, who leads the team with 11 victories.
• Jim Hendrikx has won three straight matches. He has seven victories this season.
• J.B. Pickard also has seven wins.
• Hendrikx and Bellalouna has six doubles victories as a pair.

 
Up Next

• The winner advances to Friday's semifinals where it meets the winner of the No. 2 Furman-No. 7 Mercer match.