Results

NEW ORLEANS – The University of South Alabama men's tennis team got a pair of three-set victories at the bottom of the lineup to give the Jaguars a 4-2 win over Georgia Southern in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Championships Friday afternoon at City Park Tennis Center.

The second-seeded Jaguars move on to the semifinals with a 14-11 record and will face No. 6 seed Appalachian State Saturday at 3 p.m. The Eagles end their season at 15-8.

"When we started the tournament, I don't care what seed you are, we have seven strong teams and we had a really tough battle," USA head coach Nick Brochu said. "It's a very strong conference this year and anyone can win, so we didn't take this match lightly. We knew we were possibly stronger at some positions, so the goal was to get on the board early."

Senior Gerhard Gruindelingh (Pretoria, South Africa) and freshman Lucas Gonzalez (Chateauroux, France) each went the distance – with Gruindelingh rallying from a first-set deficit – to break a 2-2 tie. At No. 5, Gruindelingh fell 6-2 in the first, but came back in the final two frames to win 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 over Eduardo Landin. On court 6, Gonzalez clinched the match against Christian Kerrigan with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 final.

"Even though you're tired, like we had at 5 and 6 – both three-setters – you can see the finish line and want to get there," Brochu said. "It's great to see a guy like Gerhard at No. 5, lose the first set and came back and fought hard. He gave us a big third point, and that was awesome. Lucas fought off big pressure to clinch the match for us."

The Jags won the doubles point on courts 2 and 3 with scores of 6-3 and 6-2, respectively, but the Eagles' Juan Carlos Alcala evened the match at 1-1, losing just three games in a 6-2, 6-1 victory over senior Tim Srkala (Brno, Czech Republic) at No. 2.

Sophomore Olivier Gingras (Quebec City, Quebec, Canada) put USA back on top on court 4, defeating Daniel Casablancas 6-4, 6-2, but Jose Moya downed senior Juan Troglia (Mendoza, Argentina) 6-4, 6-3 at No. 3 for a 2-2 score.

"We did very good in doubles, were explosive, and in singles, Olivier gave us a quick point, and as soon as you start getting some wins, then you can start seeing the finish line," Brochu stated.

Gruindelingh and Gonzalez followed to put the Jaguars in the semifinals for the sixth straight season.

"We have another big challenge tomorrow," Brochu said. "App St had a great upset win today and they will be very excited to play us tomorrow. We need to stick to our game plan and execute at the right time."

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).

—USA—