THOMASVILLE, Ga. – University of South Alabama sophomore Paula Sanchez (Bogota, Colombia) defeated two opponents Sunday to win the 'B' Draw championship Sunday at the Thomasville Invitational.

The Jaguars also boasted singles and doubles finalists on the final day of tournament play.

"This was a good start to the fall," USA head coach Jaco Keyser said. "We got plenty of matches in and we have some good reference points for this upcoming week's practice."

Sanchez needed a third-set tiebreaker to get past Sabrina Schmidt of Valdosta State 6-2, 2-6, (10-5) in the semifinals, setting up a meeting in the finals with teammate Laura Matuskova (Bratislava, Slovakia), who topped Monet Graves of Florida A&M 6-1, 6-1.

Sanchez prevailed in the finals in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4.

"I'm extremely excited for Sanchez who had a great tournament with some really good quality of play that validates some of the hard work she put in during the summer," Keyser said.

In the 'A' Draw, freshman Monica Mitta (Fairhope, Ala.) also advanced to the finals, defeating Nina Bubelova of West Florida 6-4, 2-6, (10-5) in the semis before dropping a 6-1, 2-6, (10-8) decision to Laura Ubeda of Valdosta State.

Ubeda reached the finals after a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Jaguar freshman Silvia Martinkova (Trencin, Slovakia).

USA's doubles team of Matuskova and Mitta fell 8-4 in the doubles championship Bubelova and Fernanda Amaral.

The Jags return to the court in two weeks at the UNLV Classic Sept. 20-22 in Las Vegas, Nev.

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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