HATTIESBURG, Miss. – University of South Alabama men's tennis team claimed 10 wins, including nine singles victories, on Friday at the Southern Miss Invitational.

The Jaguars picked up five singles matches from Alabama State and four from UAB.

"It was a long and hot day today," said USA head coach Nick Brochu. "The guys did well. We fought hard and came up with good results."

Senior Daniel Leitner (Niederfischbach, Germany), juniors Gerhard Gruindelingh (Pretoria, South Africa) and Juan Troglia (Mendoza, Argentina) and freshman Olivier Gingras (Quebec City, Quebec, Canada) each went undefeated on day one with two wins apiece.

"It was great to see our freshman Olivier finish the day undefeated," said Brochu. "Daniel teamed up with him in doubles to go undefeated on the day as well. Those two connected well and dominated their matches. Gerhard was also impressive in singles."

Leitner, ranked No. 115 in the nation, defeated Ronald Mataba of ASU 6-4, 7-5 and Christian Coetzee of UAB 6-4, 6-1 at the No. 1 position. Gruindelingh edged Karlo Sroruk of ASU 6-2, 6-0 at No. 3 and downed Donovan McSeveney of UAB 6-1, 6-3 at the No. 2 spot.

Gingras topped Digvijay Naruka of ASU 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 in the No. 4 spot, followed by a 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 victory over Charles McCombs of UAB at No. 5. Troglia outlasted Matthew Hill of UAB 6-4, 5-7, (10-6) in the No. 4 flight and dropped Adam Coyne of ASU 7-5, 6-1 at No. 5.

Senior Manuel Belda (Posadas, Misiones, Argentina) went 1-1 on the day with a 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) win over Takura Mlambo of ASU on the No. 2 court, but fell 6-3, 2-1, (ret.) to Luiz Felipe Pinto of UAB at No. 3.

In doubles action, Leitner and Gingras claimed the only win for South Alabama with an 8-3 victory over Brad Marriott and Daniel Merker of Southern Miss at No. 2. Wen-Po Tseng and Chao-Yu Huang of USM edged Gruindelingh and Belda 8-7 (7-2) in the No. 1 flight, while teammates Mikhal Esipov and Alex Doleac topped Troglia and sophomore Quincy Olij (Alkmaar, Netherlands) 8-5 at the No. 3 spot.

"Tomorrow is another day, but the guys are looking good," said Brochu.

The Jaguars are back in action against Southern Miss Saturday morning at 8 a.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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