TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Behind two wins from junior Manuel Belda (Posadas, Misiones, Argentina), the University of South Alabama men's tennis team racked up six victories on the second day of the USTA/ITA Southern Regional Championships.
Belda defeated Harrison Kennedy of LSU 3-6, 6-0, (10-4) and followed up with a 7-6 (9-7), 6-2 win over Evan Karatzas of Nicholls State in the consolation draw.
"Today was better," said USA head coach Nick Brochu. "The guys competed well and we won most of the tiebreakers, which are the crucial points."
Junior Daniel Leitner (Niederfischbach, Germany) outlasted Florian Lakat of Mississippi State 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (8-6), 6-3, but later fell 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, (ret.) to Chris Helliar of UAB. Freshman Tuki Jacobs (Windhoek, Namibia) also split matches with a 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 win over Andrew Goodwin of Alabama and a 6-1, 7-5 loss to William Kallberg of Ole Miss.
"It was unfortunate that Daniel had to retire in his second match," said Brochu. "He played a very long match this morning and only had one hour to recover before his second match. We knew he had to keep it short for his second match, but unfortunately he couldn't close it in two sets. He got leg cramps in the third set and had to retire. Tuki also showed good stuff on the court against the No. 5 seed from Ole Miss. I think he would have won if he could have taken his opponent in the third set. Tuki fought really hard and showed a lot of great effort."
South Alabama had two more singles wins from senior Shayann Vaezzadeh (Bavent, France) and sophomore Gerhard Gruindelingh (Pretoria, South Africa) in the consolation draw. Vaezzadeh downed Lukas Clemens of Nicholls State 6-4, 6-3, while Gruindelingh outlasted Liam Sullivan of Samford 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, (10-7).
"The guys took care of business today and we hope to carry that momentum in tomorrow's matches," said Brochu.
Tournament play continues Saturday morning at 9 a.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).
—USA—
