TEMPE, Ariz. – The University of South Alabama men's tennis team doubles-pairing of Loïc Cloes and Clèment Marzol were ranked 37th in the ITA Collegiate National Preseason Rankings, as announced by the ITA Tuesday. Cloes also made an appearance in the initial singles rankings at 124th.

In double action, Cloes and Marzol posted a 19-12 overall record en route to earning first-team all-Sun Belt honors. All 18 of the duo's matches during the spring came at the No. 1 position.

Cloes finished the 2018-19 season with a 21-8 overall singles record with 18 of those victories coming during dual match play last spring. The senior was 5-0 during the regular season in Sun Belt Conference play and ended the year on a 15-match win streak. The Oreye, Belgium, native opened up singles play this past weekend with three victories at the Crimson Tide Four-In-The-Fall hosted by Alabama at the Alabama Tennis Stadium.

For his singles play, Cloes received first-team all-SBC honors and was named the league's player to watch.

Also announced by the ITA were the selections for the ITA All-American in Tulsa, Okla., on Oct. 5-13. Cloes and Marzol received a bid to compete in the qualifying round of the tournament, while both also received bids to begin play in the prequalifying round of singles. Cloes was also named second alternate for the singles qualifying round. Should other players drop out, he stands a good chance of moving into the round.

The duo advanced to the quarterfinal round of the Main Draw last fall before falling to Florida's Andy Andrade and Oliver Crawford.

UP NEXT
-  In two weeks, South Alabama will continue its fall season with another pair of tournaments competing at the Oracle ITA Master (Sept. 26-28) in Malibu, Calif., and the Southern Miss Invitational (Sept. 28-29) in Hattiesburg, Miss.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Nick Brochu
- On the doubles ranking of Cloes and Marzol: "While [preseason] rankings are good, they are still just rankings. They help you get into some tournaments but from that point on you still have to perform. Last year, our Loïc and Clèment started our really strong as we were top 10 in the nation. We finished the fall season very strong, but then had a couple of hiccups in the spring dropping some matches against unranked players and teams and I think that's what hurt us in our preseason doubles ranking. The guys are excited to be back in the top 40, which puts them in the qualifying round of the ITA All-American tournament. Hopefully, we can work our way out of that round and get into the Main Draw in order to possibly pick up some big wins there.

"Last year, they were selected to compete in the Fall Nationals in Arizona and that's one of their goals for this fall as well. It doesn't happen overnight. You first have to get some big wins and secondly, you have to make sure you don't have any bad losses. They understand those two things much better this year than they did last year. Being ranked 37th is a good start for them. It's not that far from moving into the top 20, but at the same time you have to put in the effort, practice and make sure that when you have opportunities against ranked teams that you seize those opportunities."

- On playing in the ITA All-American next month: "I think it's going to be a little tougher than last year for them; there's a longer path for us to travel in order to get to where we want be. Last year, we started in the main draw in doubles and were in singles in the qualifying round. We were able to advance to the main draw and face some of the top players in the country. Even with us starting in the prequalifying round this year, we decided to still participate because even though we will have to play double the amount of matches, we are fully capable of getting through those matches. In doubles, the qualifying round and main draw are very similar in the strength of opponent you will face. Last year, we had teams advance to the finals of the main draw.

"We are going to have to make sure we are in top shape when we get there. When you combine singles and doubles, there's a strong possibility that we will be playing about 10 matches in five days. We are just going to have to take it match-by-match. The guys had a good showing in doubles at the Alabama tournament with two big wins. If we keep on working hard and focus on just one match at a time that even with the path being harder, it will feel much better when we get to where we want to be."

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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