Complete Results

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – To wrap up the final day at the MT Shootout, No. 72 Elon secured the doubles point to edge the University of South Alabama men’s tennis team 4-3 on Sunday at the Buck Bouldin Tennis Center.

The Jaguars fell to 9-11 overall while the Phoenix won third place in the tournament and improved to 13-5.

“Today’s match was very intense,” said USA head coach Nick Brochu. “We had to play indoors because of the rain and Elon is much more comfortable playing indoors than we are. They dominated us at some positions. Overall, the level was very high. I don’t think it should have come down to the last doubles match. We had chances to close the match with singles.”

With the match tied at 3-3, Elon took the Nos. 1 and 3 doubles matches to secure the win.

The 34th ranked duo of Cameron Silverman and Stefan Fortmann defeated sophomore Daniel Leitner (Niederfischbach, Germany) and freshman Gerhard Gruindelingh (Pretoria, South Africa) 8-3 at the No. 1 spot. South Alabama senior Alex Bernard (Soisy Sur Seine, France) and sophomore Blake Gregor (Griffith, New South Wales, Australia) answered with an 8-6 win over Robert Lindgren and Brian Kowalski on the No. 2 court.

Juan Madrid and Jordan Kaufman clinched the win for Elon when they outlasted senior Cody Hall (Albuquerque, N.M.) and freshman Juan Troglia (Mendoza, Argentina) 9-7 in the No. 3 flight.

“We were confident going into doubles, said Brochu. “We had the momentum after winning the last two singles matches. It came down to the No. 3 doubles. The loss was the result of nerves and bad shot selection.”

In singles action, the Phoenix picked up the first two points of the day. Fortmann downed Bernard 6-2, 6-0 at No. 2 and Lindgren edged Gruindelingh 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 on the No. 3.

Leitner, ranked 68th in the nation, got South Alabama on the board with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-0 win over No. 45 Silverman at the No. 1 spot. Kaufman gave Elon a 3-1 advantage when he outlasted Gregor 6-7 (6-8), 6-2, 6-3 in the No. 4 flight.

“Elon started very aggressive and took the first point quickly at No. 2,” said Brochu. “We had chances to win at Nos. 3 and 4. We bounced back by winning a big match at No. 1 against a nationally ranked opponent. Daniel played so well and so solid.”

USA claimed the next two wins to tie the match. Troglia defeated Madrid 6-2, 6-3 at No. 6 and Hall won 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 on the No. 5 court.

“It will be nice to come back to Mobile for our last home match,” said Brochu. “We need to regroup and get ready for the conference championship.”

South Alabama is back in action Thursday when they host Troy at 2 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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