Complete Results

MOBILE, Ala. – Falling behind 3-0, the University of South Alabama men's tennis team came back to tie the match at 3-3 and freshman Tuki Jacobs (Windhoek, Namibia) rallied to clinch the 4-3 victory over UAB on Saturday at the Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts.

The 75th-ranked Jaguars end their regular season with a three-match win streak and a 17-7 overall mark; the Blazers fall to 12-8.

"Today was a very long match," said USA head coach Nick Brochu. "We played for four and a half hours, which was a very big battle. UAB was a good team and they fought extremely well. It feels awesome to win."
 
UAB won the doubles point and took two singles matches for a 3-0 lead, but South Alabama followed with four straight singles victories. Sophomore Juan Troglia (Mendoza, Argentina) claimed his fifth straight win when edged Luiz Felipe Pinto 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) at No. 6.

Senior Shayann Vaezzadeh (Bavent, France) dropped Mitchell Martell 6-3, 6-3 in the No. 5 flight and sophomore Gerhard Gruindelingh (Pretoria, South Africa) tied the match at 3-3 when he defeated Stephan Vancurik 6-4, 7-5 on the No. 4 court.

After winning the first set but dropping the second set, Jacobs rebounded to take the third set and a 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, 6-3 victory over Donovan McSeveney at the No. 3 spot. Vaezzadeh, Gruindelingh and Jacobs each improved their win streaks to three.

"We played singles much better than doubles," said Brochu. "It is a great feeling to be able to win a big match like this without our big players giving you points. Losing the doubles point and Nos. 1 and 2, but winning the battle shows how deep our team is. We were down 3-0, but no one was worried because we were pretty much cruising on four courts. Positions 3, 4, 5 and 6 were in control.

"Tuki was big for us. Yesterday he was a little flat and I was really happy to see him bounce back today. In the last game, when he was serving for the match, he started to cramp and being able to fight through cramps is a great feeling. He won, threw his hands up and then fell to the ground because of his cramps. It was perfect timing for him to finish the match. I'm very happy for him. He went and got the win; he didn't wait for his opponent to give it to him."

Junior Daniel Leitner (Niederfischbach, Germany) dropped his sixth match of the season when he fell 6-4, 6-2 to No. 80 Chris Helliar at No. 1. Rafael Rondino topped junior Manuel Belda (Posadas, Misiones, Argentina) 7-5, 6-3 on the No. 2 court.

In doubles action, USA picked up the first win, but UAB answered with wins at Nos. 2 and 3 to take the point. Belda and Troglia outlasted Helliar and Martell 8-7 (7-4) at No. 1. McSeveney and Lucas Dirube defeated Leitner and Gruindelingh 8-3 in the No. 2 flight and Rondino and Pinto took an 8-5 victory over Jacobs and Vaezzadeh at the No. 3 spot.

"I'm not saying we played bad in doubles, but we missed the big points," said Brochu. "I think that made a difference. The bottom line is that we didn't execute well. When you don't stick to the plan and make the right shot selection, you end up missing a few points and that's how you lose."

The Jaguars are back in action Friday as they head to New Orleans for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

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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