Box Score - FAU
Box Score - ULL

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The University of South Alabama men’s tennis team dropped its matches against Florida Atlantic and Louisiana at Lafayette Saturday on the first day of the Sun Belt Shootout hosted by Middle Tennessee.

The seventh-seeded Jaguars (5-7) lost their opening match 4-2 to No. 2 seed FAU (8-7) to fall into the consolation bracket. In the second match of the day, consolation semifinals, USA was edged 4-3 by sixth-seeded ULL (5-9).

“We started very strong in doubles which has been our strength all season,” said USA head coach Nick Brochu. “All three teams played very solid tennis. I was proud of our guys. FAU is a very good team.”

The final match of the day started with singles but a 3-3 tie at its conclusion forced a doubles round that the Ragin’ Cajuns took 2-1 thanks in part to a walkover on No. 3 due to an injury.

“We played a weird second match today,” said Brochu. “Our energy was up and down on all courts. Maybe it was because it was the second match of the day, but we can’t use that as an excuse. When your legs are tired you have to show a lot of heart and character.”

FAU won the first doubles match on court No. 2 before USA picked up wins in the No. 1 and No. 3 flights to clinch the point.

USA juniors Hanno Bartsch (Pretoria, South Africa) and Dauw Kruger (Pretoria, South Africa) defeated Daniel Vardag and Marc Wakin 8-4 in the No. 3 spot while juniors Romain Bocaert (Lille, France) and Christian Kuehne (Morbach, Germany) beat Marc Abdelnour and Ervin Garibovic 9-7 in the No. 1 position.

In singles action, the Owls won the first three matches in the No. 6, No. 2 and No. 5 flights giving them the 3-1 lead.

Kruger downed Wakin at No. 4 singles in straight sets 7-6 (8-6), 6-0 adding USA’s second point of the match, but the Owls clinched the match shortly after on the No. 1 court with Abdelnour’s 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) victory over Bocaert.

“We played well, but we made too many mistakes,” said Brochu. “We fought hard and it was a very close match, but the high number of mistakes cost us the win. We need to be more consistent and solid in singles.”

In the nightcap, the Ragin’ Cajuns won the first two points in straight sets at No. 6 and No. 2 singles.

Bocaert put the Jags on the board with his 6-4, 6-2 win on the No. 1 court over Yanick Mandl.

After a loss in the No. 3 spot USA was down 3-1, but with wins by Bartsch and Kruger at No. 4 and No. 5, the Jaguars were able to come back and tie the match 3-3. Kruger rallied from a set down and won with two tiebreakers 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-5)

ULL won at No. 3 doubles by default giving them the 1-0 advantage.

On the No. 1 court Bocaert teamed up with sophomore Alexandre Bernard to defeat Mandl and Brandon Farnie 8-6 before the Ragin’ Cajuns clinched the point and the match with a win in the No. 2 position by the same score.

“We had two bad losses today,” said Brochu. “I am disappointed in our performance. We should have been able to dig deep and win. We got nervous and made some mistakes and opened the door for ULL to come back.”

South Alabama will play Troy for the seventh-place spot Sunday at 9 a.m.

Results will be posted on goblueraiders.com when they become available.

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).

-USA-