STARKVILLE, Miss. — The University of South Alabama men's tennis defeated the nationally ranked Tulane Green Wave, 4-1 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre in Starkville, Miss., on Friday afternoon. 

The Jaguars earned the double point against the No. 40 Green Wave with a winner from Loic Cloes to break Tulane's serve. The No. 75 ranked pair of Cloes and Marzol got the 6-3 win. 

South Alabama took control of singles, winning the first set in four of the six matches. Louis Delcour clinched the first singles match for the Jags with a decisive 6-0 win in the second set. Maxime Lapraille followed suit and got the 6-1 in the third set after losing in the first. With the Jags up 3-1, Sam Serrano downed his opponent on court four in straight sets to clinch for the Jags.

DOUBLES
1. No. 75 Cloes/Marzol (USA) def. Moore/Schick, 6-3. 
2. Kotorman/Stewart (Tulane) Modica/Serrano (USA) , 2-6. 
3. Lapraille/Delcour (USA) def. Erlenbusch/Esses (Tulane), 6-1. 
Order of Finish: (3,2,1)

SINGLES
1. Sacha Modica (USA) vs. No. 65 Ewan Moore, 6-4, 2-6, 2-3, unfinished. 
2. Loic Cloes (USA) vs. No. 101 Luis Erlenbusch, 5-7, 6-3, 2-2, unfinished. 
3. Hamish Stewart (Tulane) def. Clement Marzol (USA), 6-2, 6-0.
4. Sam Serrano (USA) def. Dane Esses (Tulane), 7-5, 6-4.
5. Maxime Lapraille (USA) def. Tyler Schick (Tulane) 6-3, 1-6, 6-1. 
6. Louis Delcour (USA) def. Tim Ruetzel (Tulane), 7-5, 6-0. 
Order of Finish: (3,6,5,4)

NOTES
- Louis Delcour and Maxime Lapraille got a big 6-2 win on court three in the doubles portion of the match to put the Jags within one win of the point. 
- Sacha Modica and Sam Serrano fell 2-6 on court two in the doubles point. Their match finished shortly after court three went final and Cloes and Marzol were up 5-3 on court one. 
- Modica won 6-4 in the first set to the No. 65 ranked Ewan Moore. Moore came back to win the second set and was up 3-2 in the third set when the Jags clinched.
- Cloes faced off against the 101 ranked Luis Erlenbusch on court two. Cloes fell in the first set, won 6-3 in the second and was tied 2-2 in the third. 
- Marzol fell in straight sets on court three to give Tulane its only point of the day. 
- The Jags get a win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row in Starkville, Miss. South Alabama is now 8-12 all-time in the NCAAs. 

UP NEXT
South Alabama will meet the winner of No. 7 Mississippi State vs. Alabama State in round two of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday in Starkville, Miss. 

QUOTES
Head Coach Nick Brochu
On today's match: "At this point, everyone is good. Tennis is a game of momentum. We knew how big the doubles point was. It was very, very even on every single court. When you have two teams like this, who are very even, there is a good chance you will split three [wins] and three [wins.] We were like: 'Winning three matches is completely doable, but four is a little tougher.' That is why as soon as you win the doubles point, it is huge. You've got the momentum." 

"All of a sudden, we are confident where we are trying to catch up. If I am not mistaken, we got four first sets, I mean you just saw a huge wave of energy and confidence on our side. You cannot help it, but Tulane got quiet. We were in the lead and you could see a little gap. When you are leading on four courts, but when you only need three it takes a lot of pressure off."

 "I think the key today was Loic [Cloes] coming back and winning the second set. We were losing on two courts and Loic comes back and wins the second set then starts the third set very strong. Then it was like 'Hey, we are winning on five courts and looking very, very strong.' We met this morning and just said, 'Hey this is NCAA, there is no pressure. Just play and enjoy it. Enjoy every single moment.' If we enjoy it and have fun, that is when we play our best tennis. That is our best chance of winning. Tulane fought hard. Those guys could have gone away. They did not go away. It was amazing team effort, just a big family. It is a great win."

South Alabama Junior Loic Cloes
On today's match: "I think we played really good. We started big in doubles. We all felt good. Then we started slow in singles, a little bit tight. I saw my teammates were playing really well. We were up pretty much everywhere, and I kept fighting. I was coming back into the match. I was feeling confident in the match today."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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

—USA—