Results

MOBILE, Ala. – The No. 74 University of South Alabama men's tennis team was victorious over Stetson 4-1 at the Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts on Sunday.

In the No. 1 spot, senior Tim Srkala (Brno, Czech Republic) defeated Loic Blanco 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) in singles after falling behind 5-2 in the second set. Srkala rallied to tie 5-5 and before winning the tiebreaker.

The win improved the Jags' season campaign to 5-1. Stetson is now 0-2 on the season.

The match, originally set for 10:30 a.m., didn't go off until 12:30 p.m. due to wet courts.

"It was tough because number one, we had to delay the match three times because of the rain and the courts were wet," USA head coach Nick Brochu said. "We had to stay focused and at one point we sent the guys back to eat lunch. It's sometimes hard to stay focused, but the guys did an awesome job. You do the warmup, get into a good mood and then all of a sudden you have to go back to the locker room for an hour and come back out. You're always nervous if the kids react well or if they are going to remain focused."

On the No. 3 court, junior Tuki Jacobs (Windhoek, Namibia) and senior Juan Troglia (Mendoza, Argentina) picked up the first doubles win over Arroyo Gonzalo and Graham Ball 6-1. Srkala and junior Pierre Noyon (Oye-Plage, France) edged Coilin MacNamara and Simon Julin 6-2 in the No. 2 slot to give the Jags the doubles point.  

"We played doubles on fire, we were loud, had great weather and the crowd came out and everyone was on board," commented Brochu. "It was a great atmosphere and the guys reacted well. We were on top of them from the first ball and that was the key. We've played Stetson in the past and it can get very ugly if you go head-to-head and they get confident. We played more aggressively than they did and that's why we got the early break and kept the momentum. The one doubles point was a big point for us and we knew that. Even though we felt we were stronger and deeper in singles, having a doubles point in your pocket is always nice."

Jacobs added to his doubles point with a singles win over Pierre Fossier in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1. In the No. 2 spot, MacNamara cut the Hatters' deficit in half, defeating sophomore Olivier Gingras (Quebec, Canada) 6-3, 6-2, but Noyon made it a 3-1 lead when he defeated Julin 6-2, 6-1.

Srkala then wrapped up his comeback win to clinch the match.

"It's nice to see your two captains, Srkala, a senior, and Jacobs, who has been around for three years, get two big points for us," Brochu said. "That's big and for the young guys to see this they feel very motivated to follow them. Today was a great match from top to bottom.

"They keep working hard because it's important to step up in practice and that's where we get our captains from," said Brochu. "It's not about seniority; it's about whoever is acting like a captain at practice, in the classroom, in the locker room, and everywhere. We want the whole package. Tim and Tuki are doing all of that. They are great student-athletes and today they gave us two big wins."

South Alabama will be back in action at home on Feb. 6 against Southern Mississippi.    

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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