Results
MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama senior Romain Bocaert (Lille, France) earned two victories, including a straight-sets win at No. 1 singles to secure the match in the Jaguars' 7-0 win over Sun Belt Conference rival Troy Thursday at the Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts.
USA improved to 14-5 in dual matches, while Troy fell to 4-15 in their spring campaign.
“Today was a good conference win,” said USA head coach Nick Brochu. “We had three goals: one, to come out with a lot of energy, which we did. We knew we had to take the doubles point and set the tone for the match, and we did that. Number two was to communicate. We were trying new combinations in doubles today and I think it worked out pretty well. Number three was to be tough and stay in it until the end. Some guys had an easier match than others and I told them if you have an easy match, put us on the board early. Alex Bernard did that and it puts pressure on Troy.”
Bocaert teamed up with senior Christian Kuehne (Morbach, Germany) to clinch the doubles point with an 8-3 win over Mansingh Athare and Sami Ghorbel at the No. 1 spot. Bocaert later won 6-3, 6-4 over Rouchdi to secure the match for South Alabama.
“Romain has played him several times and it’s tough matchup for him; they go back-and-forth because Rouchdi is a good player,” said Brochu. “I told Romain his top goal was to stay focused. He dropped his focus a little bit at the end – he was serving for the match and didn’t close it – but he put it all together and won the match. It was a good confidence boost for him – he’s been having a lot of tough matches lately and to win this one is good.”
Senior Hanno Bartsch (Pretoria, South Africa) and freshman Daniel Leitner (Niederfischbach, Germany) picked up the first win of the day with their 8-4 victory over Tadju Davies and Jamie Eccleton at No. 2 doubles. Junior Alex Bernard (Soisy Sur Seine, France) and freshman Blake Gregor (Griffith, New South Wales, Australia) topped Anas Rouchdi and Patrick Eichler 8-5 on the No. 3 court.
“We knew we were the favorites in doubles, but it’s one thing to be a favorite and another thing to win,” said Brochu. “The way we did it was good – we had new partners and we jelled well together. We had to come out here and be explosive and that’s what we did. That’s how we were playing at the beginning of the season and that’s how we have to finish it. When we get into the conference tournament, that doubles point is crucial and we have to make sure we’re tough.”
USA picked up four straight-sets wins to give the Jags the 5-0 lead.
Bernard downed Eccleton 6-2, 6-0 in the No. 3 flight, followed by Gregor’s 6-3, 6-1 win over Eichler at No. 5.
“I like the way Blake closed his match,” said Brochu. “He came in the lineup in the middle of the year. He played at No. 5 today and was great. He handled his opponent perfectly. He’s turned out to be a key player for us.”
Leitner extended his win streak to seven with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Ghorbel on the No. 2 court. Senior Dauw Kruger defeated Davies 1-6, 6-3, (10-8) in the No. 6 flight. Junior Cody Hall (Albuquerque, N.M.) outlasted Athare 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (9-7) to close out the day for the Jaguars.
South Alabama returns to action April 13 when they travel to Birmingham, Ala. to take on UAB at 4 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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