MONROE, La. ? The second-seeded South Alabama men’s tennis team advanced to the semifinal round of the 2008 Sun Belt Conference Tournament Friday evening with a 4-0 victory over seventh-seeded Troy at the Heard Tennis Courts.
South Alabama (13-8), ranked 60th by the ITA, came out and took an early 1-0 match lead by capturing two of the three doubles matches. The Jag duos of Jack Baker/R.J. Nagel and Robert Hodel/Marek Sramek were each victorious. Baker and Nagel clinched the point for South Alabama with an 8-3 win over the Trojan team of Bastian Maucher and Mario Silva at No. 1.
The Jags quickly ended the match with straight set wins at the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 spots from Hodel, Sramek and R.J. Nagel to gain the match win and advance to the semifinal round.
USA will take on No. 3 Middle Tennessee on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Troy ends the season with a 5-13 mark.
No. 60 University of South Alabama 4, Troy 0
April 18, 2008 at Monroe, La.
Singles competition
1. Jack Baker (USAM) vs. Benjamin Chomette (TROY) 6-3, 4-4, unfinished
2. Robert Hodel (USAM) def. Mario Silva (TROY) 6-2, 6-4
3. Marek Sramek (USAM) def. Bastian Maucher (TROY) 6-3, 6-3
4. R.J. Nagel (USAM) def. Guilherme Sahadi (TROY) 6-1, 6-0
5. Aaron Krisan (USAM) vs. Andrey Morozov (TROY) 6-2, 4-6, 0-2, unfinished
6. Edwin van Aerts (TROY) def. Michael O'Brien (USAM) 6-2, 5-5
Doubles competition
1. Jack Baker/R.J. Nagel (USAM) def. Bastian Maucher/Mario Silva (TROY) 8-3
2. Robert Hodel/Marek Sramek (USAM) def. Andrey Morozov/Martinez (TROY) 8-1
3. Benjamin Chomette/Guilherme Sahadi (TROY) def. Aaron Krisan/Michael O'Brien (USAM) 8-2
Match Notes:
Troy 5-13
University of South Alabama 13-8; National ranking No. 60
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (4,3,2,6)
Revised Schedule - Men’s Championship
Saturday, April 19
1:30 p.m. - M5 ? No. 2 South Alabama vs. No. 3 Middle Tennessee/No. 6 Louisiana-Lafayette (Heard)
1:30 p.m. - M6 ? No. 1 Denver/No. 8 WKU vs. No. 4 Florida Atlantic/No. 5 UALR (Heard)
Sunday, April 20
2 p.m. - M7 - Championship Match
2 p.m. - M8 - Consolation Match
