Complete Results

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – With a strong start to the Middle Tennessee Shootout, the University of South Alabama men's tennis team took a 4-1 victory over Texas-Arlington to advance to the semifinal, with sophomore Gerhard Gruindelingh (Pretoria, South Africa) accounting for two points on Friday.

Gruindelingh rallied to defeat Mario Muniesa 4-6, 6-4, 6-5 (7-4) at the No. 4 spot to secure the win for the Jaguars. He also paired with junior Daniel Leitner (Niederfischbach, Germany) to clinch the doubles point with a 6-5 (7-5) win over Muniesa and Javier Perez.

"Today was huge for Gerhard," said USA head coach Nick Brochu. "He won in a third-set tiebreaker to clinch the win for us, even after being down 5-3 in the second set. He fought so hard for his win today. Gerhard and Daniel really fed off the energy of our guys at No. 1 to come back and win in an explosive tiebreaker to win the doubles point."

After Gruindelingh helped give the Jags a 1-0 lead, Leitner put USA up 2-0 after he downed Marek Pesicka 6-3, 6-2 on the No. 1 court, but Daniel Armengol responded for the Mavericks with a 6-1, 6-5 (7-3) win over freshman Tuki Jacobs (Windhoek, Namibia) at No. 3.

Giving the Jaguars a 3-1 lead, Belda outlasted Carlos Arbiza 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in the No. 2 flight, followed by Gruindelingh's fourth straight win.

"I was impressed by Texas-Arlington coming out and winning the first sets on courts 3, 4, 5 and 6," said Brochu. "I am proud of the guys for staying calm and fighting back."

In doubles action, Belda and freshman Quincy Olij (Alkmaar, Netherlands) picked up South Alabama's first win of the day when they dropped Pesicka and Arbiza 6-2 at No. 1. Leitner and Gruindelingh added another victory at the No. 2 spot.

"Manuel and Quincy really stepped up big for us, giving us a quick and important win at No. 1," said Brochu. "We played our best doubles of the year today. Overall, we showed a lot of character. It was important to set the tone against our new Sun Belt Conference rivals. Today was a great battle by our Jags."

South Alabama improved to 13-6 in their spring campaign, while Texas-Arlington dropped to 5-11 overall. The Jaguars are back in action Saturday against DePaul.

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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