'MURFEESBORO, Tenn. – The University of South Alabama men's tennis team rallied after dropping the doubles point to win 4-3 over UAB Saturday at the Adams Tennis Complex.
 
This marks the second straight win for the Jaguars, as they improve to 19-5, while UAB dropped to 9-8 on the year.
 
"Today was close to being a nightmare," said USA head coach Nick Brochu. "I'm happy that we won but not happy by the way we played."
 
Senior Juan Cruz Soria (San Juan, Argentina) and freshman Loic Cloes (Remicourt, Belgium) opened doubles with a 6-2 win over Stefan Gonzalez and Anru Fourie at No. 1. Junior Oliver Gingras (Quebec City, Quebec, Canada) and senior Pierre Noyon (Oye-Plage, France) fell to Nikolai Manchev and Kenton Parton 6-4 on court No. 3, and senior Tuki Jacobs (Windhoek, Namibia) and sophomore Lucas Gonzalez (Chateauroux, France) were defeated by Eric Komati and Tim Dollman 7-5 at No. 2 to give UAB the doubles point.
 
"In doubles, after winning convincingly at No. 1, we were up 4-2 at No. 3, but we got soft and gave them the doubles point," said Brochu.
 
The Jags opened singles with two straight victories. Gonzalez defeated Fourie 6-2, 6-2 on court No. 5, and Cloes dropped Manchev 6-2, 6-3 at No. 4. UAB bounced back when Dollman defeated No. 97 Jacobs 7-6 (7-3), 6-0 on court No. 1. Noyon gave the Jags a 3-2 lead by besting Parton 7-5, 6-3 at No. 6, but the Blazers tied it when Komati beat No. 111 Soria 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 on court No. 2. Gingras clinched the win for USA by rallying 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (10-8) against Gonzalez at No. 3.
 
"I never expected a match like this with so many ups and downs," Brochu said. "We need to analyze what went wrong today and make sure we are ready for tomorrow."
 
The Jaguars return to the court Sunday at 10 a.m. to face Valparaiso.
 
Join the Baseline Club, the tennis-specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All donations to the Baseline Club go directly to support the South Alabama men's and women's tennis programs. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/baselineclub
 
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).