Complete Results

LAFAYETTE, La. – University of South Alabama sophomore Mary Angela Martin (Mobile, Ala.) outlasted Bailey VanDyke at No. 4 singles to give the Jaguars a 4-2 victory over Louisiana at Lafayette in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Championships, hosted by ULL.

The Jaguars (16-9) advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2009 where they will play top seed North Texas Saturday at 10 a.m.

“It was a good job by the girls today to advance,” USA head coach Jaco Keyser said. “It's always a little uncomfortable when you play the host team but I thought for most of the match we handled it well. The main point is we got a win and are looking forward to play in the semifinals tomorrow.”

Martin’s 7-6 (7-1), 7-5 clinching victory extended her singles win streak to 10.

The two teams alternated straight-sets victories in singles, starting with sophomore Emily Newton’s (Dothan, Ala.) whitewash of Melissa Burckhartt at No. 3 to give the Jags a 2-0 lead. ULL’s Nicole Breaux answered with a 6-0, 6-4 win at No. 2.

Freshman Paula Sanchez (Bogota, Colombia) defeated Hannah Appleyard 6-2, 6-3 on the No. 6 court for a 3-1 advantage. Sophie Van den Aarssen cut the deficit in half with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-0 win over freshman Michaela Meszarosova (Bratislava, Slovakia) before Martin’s victory at No. 4.

“I thought we controlled the singles matches pretty well, but we did leave the door open for them and things got a little testy,” Keyser noted.

The Jaguars won the doubles point with a pair of 8-4 victories at the top two flights. Newton and Meszarosova topped Juliette Clement and Burckhartt at No. 1, and sophomores Mariya Krachok (Kiev, Ukraine) and Ramona Ghermani (Bad Wimpfen, Germany) followed with a win over Van den Aarssen and Breaux.

“Our doubles play today was solid,” Keyser said. “We absorbed their good play early on and took over late in the matches.”

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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