Results

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – North Florida took all three doubles matches and won two singles matches in three sets, including the clincher, to defeat the No. 42 University of South Alabama men’s tennis team 4-3 Monday afternoon at the UNF Tennis Complex.

The Ospreys halt the Jaguars’ four-match win streak to improve to 8-4. South Alabama drops to 9-4.

“Credit to UNF,” said USA head coach Nick Brochu. “They fought really hard and deserve the win today. They came out on fire and played aggressive in singles.”

The Jags, who had won nine of their last 10 doubles matches, were swept for just the third time all season.

UNF’s Moritz Buerchner and Pedro Davisson got on the board at No. 3 with an 8-5 win over junior Cody Hall (Albuquerque, N.M.) and freshman Daniel Leitner (Niederfischbach, Germany). The Ospreys’ combo of Daniel Sotomarino and Norbert Nemcsek finished off the doubles point with an 8-4 win at No. 1.

“Today was very disappointing,” Brochu commented. “Doubles has been our strength all year, but today we were really flat. We got behind and tried to play catch-up, but it was too late. We need to go back to the energy we had during the first half of the season.”

The two teams split a pair of straight-sets singles matches, with the Jags pulling within 2-1 on a 6-1, 7-5 win by freshman Blake Gregor (Griffith, New South Wales, Australia) at No. 5.

“It was great to see Blake play aggressive and give us our first point quickly to tie it up,” said Brochu. “He is progressing well and is finding his game.”

Buerchner put UNF on top 3-1 with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 victory on the No. 1 court. After Leitner won 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 at No. 3, the Ospreys’ Leonardo Nahar clinched the match by dealing senior Dauw Kruger (Pretoria, South Africa) just his second loss at the No. 6 spot, 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3.

Junior Alex Bernard (Soisy Sur Seine, France) accounted for USA’s last point of the day in a grueling 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-3) victory at No. 2 over Sotomarino.

“We didn't deliver on some other courts,” Brochu said. “I think some of us may have taken this team too lightly. UNF is a good team and they came to fight today. We have to work harder at practice and during matches. Some guys need to take a good look in the mirror and work harder. Winning when you play well is easy. It's when you have a bad day and can still dig it out that matters. We need to fight harder. Some guys had a good beginning of the season, but it's not the time to slow down. We still have a long season ahead of us and we need to show more character on the court. And it starts tomorrow.”

The Jags take a day off before playing at Jacksonville Wednesday at 1 p.m. CDT.

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

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