Results

DENTON, Texas – After losing the doubles point, the University of South Alabama men’s tennis team won four singles matches in straight sets to advance to the semifinals of the Sun Belt Championships, defeating No. 5 seed Florida Atlantic 4-1 Thursday.

South Alabama, ranked No. 57 in the nation, improved to 16-6, while FAU ended its season at 13-9.

“The win today was awesome,” said USA head coach Nick Brochu. “It was filled with so many emotions, up and down constantly.”

Junior Cody Hall (Albuquerque, N.M.) got USA on the board with a 6-4, 6-1 win at the No. 4 flight over Robert Dubuque. Senior Hanno Bartsch (Pretoria, South Africa) and freshman Daniel Leitner (Niederfischbach, Germany) followed with straight-sets wins at No. 6 and No. 3, respectively, to give the Jags a 3-1 lead.

“Daniel sprained his ankle badly at 1-1 in his singles match,” said Brochu. “I’m so proud of Daniel for overcoming his injury and win an important match for us. Hanno showed a lot of character today. He played like a strong senior and gave us our second point.”

Senior Alex Bernard (Soisy Sur Seine, France) defeated Chris Janssen 6-4, 6-0 on the No. 2 court to secure the match for South Alabama.

The Owls earned the doubles point after an 8-5 victory over Hall and Leitner at the No. 3 spot and an 8-6 win over Bartsch and senior Christian Kuehne (Morbach, Germany) in the No. 1 flight.

“Today was a great team victory, one that our seniors will remember,” said Brochu. “Now we need to rest and get ready for Denver tomorrow.”

The fourth-seeded Jaguars will face top-seeded Denver Friday at 3 p.m.
 
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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