Box Score

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men’s tennis team won three singles matches in straight sets to advance to the semifinals of the Sun Belt Men’s Tennis Championships with a 4-1 win over Troy Friday afternoon at the Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts.

USA, the No. 3 seed, evens its record at 8-8 and will face No. 2 seed Florida Atlantic Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. Sixth-seeded Troy ends its season at 3-17.

“We started strong in singles but in some positions, after taking the lead, we got a little passive, maybe sat on our lead a little too long and opened the door for them to come back, and they did,” said USA head coach Nick Brochu. “Troy is a very hungry team and this is a big rivalry. They got back in it but it’s good to see three guys coming through in straight sets to keep our energy for tomorrow.”

The Jaguars claimed the doubles point with wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 flights. Senior Lucas Viel (Boussy-Saint-Antione, France) and junior Dauw Kruger (Pretoria, South Africa) struck first with an 8-5 win at No. 3. USA’s team of juniors Hanno Bartsch (Pretoria, South Africa) and Romain Bocaert (Lille, France) jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead over the Trojans’ Jamie Eccleton and Mansingh Athare. Troy won the next five games for a 5-3 advantage, but Bocaert and Bartsch answered with three straight games and later broke a 6-6 tie to win 8-6.

“Our goal was to win the doubles point right off the bat, be very aggressive and play with high energy,” Brochu said. “That’s been our trademark all year. We’ve been dominant in doubles—that’s been a good part of our season.”

After winning the doubles point, Kruger added to the Jaguar lead with a 6-1, 6-2 decision over Niklas Jonsson at No. 6. Alexandre Bernard (Soisy Sur Seine, France) followed with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Jamie Eccleton in the No. 2 flight for a 3-0 margin.

Sami Ghorbel kept the Trojans alive by defeating junior Hanno Bartsch (Pretoria, South Africa) 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 but Viel ended the match with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Mario Rolemberg. Viel won the last three and four games in each set, respectively.

The Jags will try to avenge a 4-2 loss to FAU earlier this month at the Sun Belt Shootout.

“We played them three weeks ago but did not have a full lineup—we had two guys missing,” Brochu said. “The doubles point will be key—we won it last time—and singles will be a big battle tomorrow. FAU, being the second seed, are a big team to beat here.”

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

—USA—