Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Results
DePaul Results

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The University of South Alabama men's tennis team won over DePaul after dropping their first match to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Friday in the 50th Annual H-E-B Tournament of Champions. 

The Jaguars fell to the Islanders 4-0 in the morning and closed out the Blue Demons 4-3 in the afternoon. USA came away with an overall 9-7 record, while DePaul dropped to 3-10, and TAMU-CC ended the day with a record of 10-5.

The Jaguars went into doubles against DePaul tied 3-3. Senior Gerhard Gruindelingh (Pretoria, South Africa) and sophomore Oliver Gingras (Quebec, Canada) topped Kyle Johnson and Paul John 6-2 at court No. 1. Seniors Tim Srkala (Brno, Czech, Repulbic) and Juan Troglia (Mendoza, Argentina) clinched the victory for USA by defeating Jan-Willem Feilzer and Alex Galoustian 6-4 at No. 2.

"DePaul won the last three matches and forced doubles to be played," said USA head coach Nick Brochu. "We made sure to forget that we were up 3-0 and play in the present. Our No. 1's played like great leaders and gave us a quick win. Our two seniors closed the day with a solid win at No. 2."

Gingras dropped Nathan de Veer 6-1, 6-2 at No. 4, and freshman Lucas Gonzalez (Chateauroux, France) bested Tim Corwin at the No. 6 court 6-1, 6-3 to start singles. Troglia rallied 0-6, 7-5, 6-2 over Johnson at court No. 3 to give the Jaguars a 3-0 lead.

"We had an excellent start winning the first sets on five of the six courts," Brochu said. "We closed two matches and got up 2-0 quickly. Troglia stayed solid and put us up 3-0."

The Blue Demons fought back when Feilzer beat Gruindelingh 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 at No. 5. Galoustian defeated Srkala 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 at the No. 2 court, and at No. 1, Sten Leusink won 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 over junior Tuki Jacobs (Windhoek, Nambia) to tie it 3-3. 

"We had opportunities to close the match but didn't," said Brochu. "We need to be more solid on big points."

In doubles against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Kevin Battendroffer and Arthur Bedel defeated Gruindelingh and Gingras 6-2 at the No. 1 court. The Jaguars came back at No. 2 when Srkala and Troglia dropped Guillaume Rauseo and Mitchell Cook 6-2. Ricardo Mayogoitia and Javier Pujol secured the doubles point for TAMU-CC by beating Jacobs and junior Pierre Noyon (Oye-Plage, France) 6-3 at court No. 3.

"We had our chances this morning but couldn't capitalize on them," Brochu said. "Losing the doubles point after having so many break points really hurt us."

Bettendroffer topped Srkala 6-3, 6-1 at No. 1 to begin singles. Rauseo put the Islanders up 3-0 by defeating Gingras 6-2, 6-3 at court No. 4. Mayagoitia clinched the victory for TAMU-CC by beating Jacobs 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 at the No. 2 spot. 

"Corpus Christi is really solid in singles," said Brochu. "They won two quick matches and we found ourselves down 3-0 and down on all courts except one. Our guys weren't playing well, but we fought hard and kept bringing balls back. We came back on all courts and took them to three sets on the last four matches. We felt the momentum shift in our favor. But coming back from 3-0 down is extremely hard. We fell just short."

The Jaguars continue in the 50th Annual H-E-B Tournament of Champions Saturday at 9:30 a.m. to take on Texas-Rio Grande Valley.

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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