MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's tennis team picked up a pair of singles and a pair of doubles wins Friday at the Crimson Tide Four-In-The-Fall hosted by Alabama at the Alabama Tennis Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., while the three players competing at the Thomasville Collegiate Invitational hosted by the Glen Arven Country Club in Thomasville, Ga., fell to West Florida on the opening day of the event.
Tournament Name: Crimson Tide Four-In-The-Fall
Host: Alabama
Date: 9/13
Place: Alabama Tennis Stadium (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
DOUBLES
Crimson Draw
- Quarterfinal Round: Clément Marzol / Loïc Cloes (South Alabama) def. Tim Reutzel / Henry Lovett (Tulane), 8-4
- Semifinal Round: Jordan Chrysostom / Martim Prata (Tennessee) def. Clément Marzol / Loïc Cloes (South Alabama), 8-4
Houndstooth Draw
- Quarterfinal Round: Jan Soren Hain / Simon Junk (Ole Miss) def. Martin Bugaj / Sébastien Collard (South Alabama), 8-4
- Semifinal Round: Martin Bugaj / Sébastien Collard (South Alabama) def. Avi Shugar / Marcelo Sepulveda Garza (Alabama), 8-6
SINGLES
Crimson Draw
- Marzol (South Alabama) def. Jochen Bertsch (Oklahoma), 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
- Cloes (South Alabama) def. Gregor Ramskogler (Mississippi State), 6-3, 6-4
Houndstooth Draw
- Shugar (Alabama) def. Bugaj (South Alabama) 6-2, 7-5
- Junk (Ole Miss) def. Collard (South Alabama), 7-5, 6-2
NOTES
- Cloes extended his current undefeated singles streak to 16 with the straight-set win. The Jag senior closed out last spring winning 15-straight matches and having two of the 17 matches during the streak go unfinished.
- Saturday will see the four Jaguars play two singles matches beginning at 9 a.m.
- The duo of Clois and Marzol will close out doubles play on Sunday at 9 a.m. when they face Georgia's team of Erick Grevelius and Mateo Reyes. The freshmen duo of Bugaj and Collard will take on Tulane's doubles team of Dane Esses and Benji Jacobson on Sunday in the Houndstooth Doubles Draw of the Crimson Tide Four-In-The-Fall.
Tournament Name: Thomasville Collegiate Invitational
Host: Glen Arven Country Club
Date: 9/13
Place: Glen Arven Tennis Center (Thomasville, Ga.)
West Florida 2, South Alabama 1
DOUBLES
- Juan Cabrera / Salvador Bandeira (West Florida) def. Ezra Blissard (South Alabama) / Member of Glen Arven CC*, 6-1, 6-1
*Playing for South Alabama for scoring purposes
SINGLES
- Serdar Bojadjiev (West Florida) def. Louis Delcour (South Alabama) 6-4, 6-4
- Leon Pet'ko (South Alabama) def. Adam Svensson (West Florida), 4-6, 6-3, 10-6
NOTES
- Round two of the men's singles draw will get underway at 9 a.m. (CT) on Saturday with the third round is scheduled to start around 1 p.m. (CT) later in the afternoon.
- South's contingent at the Thomasville Invitational will face Florida State on Saturday.
THEY SAID IT
Head coach Nick Brochu
- On the player's performance on day one of the Alabama tournament: "Overall, it was a good day. We had a lot of ups and down today, which was kind of expected with it being our first tournament.
- On the doubles play on Friday: "We started with doubles and Sébastien [Collard] and Martin [Bugaj] that they were very nervous early on. Instead of being aggressive or relaxed like they had been in practice, they were played hesitant because they didn't want to make mistakes. They got down, but finally started to play like they are capable of playing and made a great comeback after being down 7-2 and showed some good potential. In their second double match of the day, things went much better and they were taking charge and they were clicking. They were pumped and loud; they weren't afraid of hitting any of the returns. It really paid off for them and they were able to pick up a good win against a good Alabama [doubles] team.
"Loïc [Cloes] and Clément [Marzol] had a tough first match against the team from Tulane and I thought they played well in it. They came out strong in the match and held serve the entire match, which was good. In their second [doubles] match, Tennessee played very solid and were very consistent. Whenever Loïc and Clem had some down times, Tennessee took advantage of it. After that, we were just playing catchup. Tennessee's team was too solid for us today and credit to them for that."
- On the afternoon singles session: "We saw some good things in our singles play and we saw some things that we definitely need to work on. Martin faced a tough opponent and he was very up and down in the match dealing with nerves with it being his first singles match for us, but at the end of it he played some very good, competitive tennis. We need to be able to manage our emotions better. It was the same thing with Sébastien. He was in position to win the first set of his match, leading 5-3 and playing well, but he started struggling with his serve and he let that influence the rest of his play. His baseline game also started struggling and he lost his confidence. It's tough sometimes for freshmen when they play those big schools, but it's a good experience for them to have now so we can learn from it and get better and stronger for play tomorrow.
"Clem and Loïc really took care of business in their singles matches. Loïc was playing a very explosive opponent, but he had an answer for the challenge and kind of out-powered his opponent. Clem had a tough match against a crafty lefty who had a very unorthodox style of play and had a very surprising first serve. It took Clem a little off guard and the guy was able to take the first set, but Clem was able to settle down and tweak some of his game plan. From there, it was just about playing solid tennis and he took care of business. Once he figured out what he needed to do, he really executed well and was able to win the match. From what we saw today, we definitely need to fix for tomorrow. It's better for it happen now, rather than six months from now in the spring season."
Assistant coach Juan Cruz Soria
- On today's performance at the Thomasville tournament: "Leon [Pet'ko] competed well today. He started a bit nervous, where he lost the first set because of one break, but he came back and played calm and smart the rest of the match. He capitalized on some opportunities in the second set and then played a really smart match in the tie break to get the win. Louis [Declour] had a tough match against a tough player. He fought well, but came up short. Ezra [Blissard] had a good doubles match. He fought hard but the other team did a pretty good job at the net, which made a difference. We will bounce back tomorrow."
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
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