Results

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama lost just three games in taking the doubles point and the bottom three singles spots accounted for three points to give head coach Jaco Keyser the school record for career wins in a 5-2 victory over Austin Peay Thursday.

The Jaguars win their second straight to improve to 6-4 on the year while the Lady Govs drop to 2-9.

“I thought it was a good day for us,” said Keyser. “We did a good job of competing and closing out games, sets, and ultimately, matches. There was somewhat of a grittiness to us today. It was a step in the right direction.”

Keyser is in his 10th season in charge at South Alabama and holds a 128-83 ledger in his career with a Sun Belt title and three trips to the NCAA Tournament to his credit.

“It’s nice, but more importantly, we got a win,” said Keyser. “I’m just happy that the girls competed well. They’ve been competing well in practice and we’re trying to make winning a habit.”

The Jags won flights 4-6 in straight sets and dropped just three games total on courts 5 and 6.

“They did very well, especially at 5 and 6,” Keyser noted. “We were real professional and took care of business. We put up solid efforts at all six singles. It’s nice to see the bottom of the lineup, especially the young, new players, step up and get some wins.”

South Alabama won the doubles point behind an 8-0 win from freshmen Ramona Ghermani (Bad Wimpfen, Germany) and Mary Angela Martin (Mobile, Ala.) at No. 3 and an 8-3 victory at No. 2 from senior Chané Hines (Johannesburg, South Africa) and sophomore Emily Newton (Dothan, Ala.).

“We played solid doubles,” Keyser said. “We’ve been playing good doubles in matches and having great practices. I think we’re finally starting to do the little things automatically and that’s been showing up in our doubles results.”

The Lady Govs evened the match at 2-2 on wins at Nos. 1 and 3 singles, sandwiched around a 6-4, 6-1 victory by Ghermani at No. 2, but Martin, Newton and freshman Mariya Krachok (Kiev, Ukraine) closed out the match with straight-sets wins.

Martin and Newton extended their winning streaks to nine. Martin topped Andra Cornea 7-5, 6-1 at No. 4 and Newton defeated Vanessa Tavarez 6-1, 6-0 on the No. 5 court. Krachok dropped just two games in a 6-2, 6-0 win.

South Alabama returns to action tomorrow with a 2 p.m. home clash with Louisiana at Lafayette.

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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