MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men’s tennis team is set to host Sun Belt Conference rival No. 68 Troy Thursday at 1 p.m. on the Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts.
“We’re really looking forward to tomorrow’s match,” USA head coach Nick Brochu said. “We are treating this match like it’s the finals of the conference tournament. Troy is having a really good year; they’re nationally ranked so this is a great opportunity for us. We learned a lot from our trip to Florida, especially that if we get on top we have to stay on top.”
The all-time series between USA and Troy stands at 10-0 in favor of the Jaguars. In their most recent meeting last season, the No. 74 Jags dominated the Trojans 6-1 at Troy.
USA (6-7) is coming off of a week layoff after dropping a close 4-3 decision to Florida Atlantic on March 18 in Boca Raton, Fla. Five of the seven South Alabama defeats this spring have come to ranked opponents, including No. 13 Florida State, No. 24 Arizona and No. 49 Brigham Young.
The Jags are led by junior Lucas Viel (Boussy-Saint-Antoine, France) and sophomore Romain Bocaert (Lille, France). The pair boasts a combined 19-6 singles record at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, including a 7-6, 6-3 win by Viel over No. 23 Clint Bowles of Florida State earlier this season.
Troy enters the match with a 13-3 record and an eight-match win streak on the line. The Trojans have an 11-2 record on the road this year and are coming off of a 6-1 victory over Jacksonville State on Tuesday.
Troy’s top two singles performers are Luis Henrique Grangeiro and Mario Rolemberg who each hold an 11-4 record in duals this spring. In doubles play, the No. 1 team of Grangeiro and Rolemberg have posted a 12-4 record, while the team of Branko Weber and Xavier Masson have tallied an 11-5 record from the No. 2 court.
Admission to all University of South Alabama home matches is free.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251)461-1USA(1872).
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