Results

NEW ORLEANS – Texas-Arlington rebounded after dropping the doubles point and won four singles matches in straight sets to clinch the 2016 Sun Belt Men's Tennis Championships over the University of South Alabama Sunday afternoon at City Park Tennis Center.

The Mavericks earn the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament with an 18-10 record. The Jaguars fall to 15-12.

"It was a great effort, especially with the cards we were dealt," USA head coach Nick Brochu said. "We tried to win the championship without our No. 2 and No. 4, but that's not an excuse.  Everybody stepped up. We had our No. 7 and 8 step up and play great tennis, and throughout the tournament, everybody stepped up. I'm really proud of those guys. We had a long, tough year and had some great results. To make it to the final this year was great.

"UT Arlington is really tough. They beat Louisiana-Lafayette in the first round and then upset the No. 1 seed Georgia State yesterday. They were tough and it went all the way down to the wire."

UTA quickly bounced back from its early deficit by taking matches at Nos. 5 and 6. Mauricio Del Rio evened the match at 1-1 on the No. 6 court with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Lucas Gonzalez (Chateauroux, France), and Carlos Arbiza defeated junior Dallas Teague (Spanish Fort, Ala.) at No. 5, 6-4, 6-3.

Johnathan Gonzalez added to UT Arlington's advantage at No. 2, downing senior Juan Troglia (Mendoza, Argentina) 6-1, 7-5, for a 3-1 lead, and Mario Muniesa rallied from a 5-4 deficit in the second set against sophomore Olivier Gingras (Quebec City, Quebec, Canada) to finish off the match, 6-4, 7-5.

"When it gets this close, it's tough to swallow," Brochu said. "I know those guys wanted to win today. I think it was a great accomplishment to make it to the final. I'm very proud of what they did today and this season. I look at the season as a good season; this is not a disappointment."

The Jaguars dropped the first doubles match, but won at flights 1 and 3 to go up 1-0. Arbiza and Del Rio picked up a 6-2 victory at No. 2, before junior Tuki Jacobs (Windhoek, Namibia) and Troglia earned a 6-4 victory at No. 3.

Gingras and senior Gerhard Gruindelingh (Pretoria, South Africa) needed a tiebreaker to claim the point, defeating Daniel Armengol and Gonzalez 7-6 (9-7).

"I'm really proud of my seniors," Brochu added. "The three seniors gave so much to this program. They did so much and they mean so much to us, so we're going to miss them."

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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