SALT LAKE CITY – Matt Cowley and Santiago Sierra each claimed a pair of victories Saturday to lead Utah to a 6-1 victory over the No. 71 University of South Alabama men's tennis team at the Eccles Tennis Center.

"Playing an inspired Utah team indoors at high altitude was too much for us today.  They used their momentum from beating Boise State last night and exploded on all 6 courts," Jag head coach Nick Brochu said.  "We need to step up tomorrow and finish this trip on a good note."

USA will face Utah State Sunday at 10 a.m. (CST) in Logan to complete its two-day trip to the state.

Cowley teamed with Parker McGuiness to clinch the doubles point for the Utes (11-0) with a 7-6 (7-1) defeat of Gerhard Gruindelingh (Pretoria, South Africa) and Olivier Gingras (Quebec, Canada) on the No. 1 court, then doubled Utah's advantage with a 6-1, 6-4 win at No. 1 singles over Tim Srkala (Brno, Czech Republic).  Sierra and Egbert Weverink earned the Utes' first doubles victory after beating the duo of Srkala and Dallas Teague (Spanish Fort, Ala.) 6-2 at No. 2, going on to clinch the match with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Gruindelingh on the No. 6 court.

"We did good in doubles.  We took them to the limit on two courts and it came down to a few points," said Brochu.  "The doubles point could have been a game changer since their strength is doubles."

Utah also got singles victories from David Micevski, Dan Little and Jamey Swiggart, with the Jaguars (7-3) advoiding the shutout when Juan Troglia (Mendoza, Argentina) defeated Weverink 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) at No. 4.

Micevski pushed the Utah lead to 3-0 on the No. 3 court with a 6-1, 6-2 decision over Pierre Noyon (Oye-Plage, France), and after Sierra's win Little earned a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Tuki Jacobs (Windhoek, Namibia) at No. 2 while Swiggart bested Gingras 6-3, 7-5 at No. 5.

"In singles, we found ourselves down a break really quickly and we were never able to recover," said Brochu.  "Everybody did better in the second sets but it was not enough.  You have to play at a high level from beginning to finish if you want to beat a hot team like Utah; they out-powered us today."

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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