MALIBU, Calif. / HATTIESBURG, Miss. – University of South Alabama men's tennis player Loïc Cloes advanced to the semifinal round of the consolation bracket of the Oracle ITA Masters before falling in straight sets to Mercer's Oliver Stuart at the Ralphs-Strauss Center. Six other Jaguars opened play at the Southern Miss Invitational on Saturday and had a solid showing.
Tournament Name: Oracle ITA Masters
Host: Pepperdine / Malibu Racquet Club
Date: 9/28
Place: Malibu Racquet Club / Ralphs-Strauss Tennis Center (Malibu, Calif.)
SINGLES – CONSOLATION ROUND
- Quarterfinals: (14) Loïc Cloes (South Alabama) def. (11) Sven Lah (Baylor), Walkover – PEPP
- Semifinals: Oliver Stuart (Mercer) def. (14) Cloes (South Alabama), 6-3, 6-3 – PEPP
(#) – Tournament seed
PEPP – Match played at Ralphs-Strauss Tennis Center on the Pepperdine University campus.
NOTES
- Lah was ranked 44th in the preseason ITA singles rankings, while Stuart was ranked 66th.
Tournament Name: Southern Miss Invitational
Host: Southern Mississippi
Date: 9/28
Place: Southern Miss Tennis Facility (Hattiesburg, Miss.)
DOUBLES
1. Clément Marzol / Sébastien Collard (South Alabama) def. Mats Westkamp / Austin Vos (New Orleans), 8-4
2. Johannes Klein / Misha Fomenkov (New Orleans) def. Martin Bugaj / Leon Pet'ko (South Alabama), 8-7 (4)
3. Louis Delcour / Ezra Blissard (South Alabama) def. Espen Lagarde / Mihajlo Drobnjakovic (New Orleans), 8-6
SINGLES
1. Marzol (South Alabama) def. Tom Cecchetto (Southern Mississippi), 6-4, 6-3
2. Dominik Fritsche (William Carey) def. Bugaj (South Alabama), 6-4, 6-4
3. Delcour (South Alabama) def. Matthieu Peres (Southern Mississippi), 6-1, 6-4
4. Daniil Klimov (William Carey) def. Pet'ko (South Alabama), 6-3, 6-4
5. Collard (South Alabama) def. Hsiang Yi Wang (Southern Mississippi), 6-0, default
6. Atikan Juprang (William Carey) def. Blissard (South Alabama), 6-1, 6-4
SINGLES
1. Marzol (South Alabama) def. Zhe Zhou (Alabama), 6-1, 6-0
2. Alexey Nesterov (Alabama) def. Delcour (South Alabama), 7-6 (4), 6-3
3. Bugaj (South Alabama) def. Tom El Safadi (UAB), 6-3, 6-2
4. Giovani Pasini (UAB) def. Collard (South Alabama), 3-6, 6-4, 10-4
5. Pet'ko (South Alabama) def. Nikolai Manchev (UAB), 2-6, 6-2, 10-5
6. Parker Bradbury (UAB) def. Blissard (South Alabama), 6-0, 6-2
NOTES
- South opened with a round of doubles against New Orleans and then played two rounds of singles against mixed squads.
UP NEXT
- South Alabama men's tennis team will close out play at the Southern Miss Invitational in Hattiesburg, Miss., on Sunday with a round of singles matches at 10 a.m., and two rounds of doubles play set to start at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
THEY SAID IT
Head coach Nick Brochu
- On today's performance by Cloes: "It was a close match, but I don't think we played well enough on the deciding points. We had a lot of things going on as far as breaking [racquet] strings on the wrong points. When things happen out of the ordinary, you either look past it or you let it bother you and I think things bothered Loïc a little too much today as far as popping strings or a call he didn't agree with; he let all that get to him a little too much which made him a little too angry. He couldn't relax on the crucial points and we dropped a few deciding points in the first and second sets.
"Overall, the player from Mercer is a very tough player. He doesn't give you any free points and he's very athletic. His forehand usually penetrates the court well and puts players on defense. He was able to hit three or four of those in a row, and Loïc felt he wasn't hitting the ball hard enough, which made him [Loïc] try to hit the ball harder and make some mistakes. That cost us a break in the first and a break in the second, and that's all it took. We really have to learn from this weekend, but we were able to play some high-level opponents at this tournament and it was a good preparation for the All-American later this fall."
Assistant coach Juan Cruz Soria
- On the first day of the Southern Miss Invitational: "It was a long day, we had some up and downs. Some guys played pretty well in the morning and managed to get the win, and some step up for the afternoon matches. Even the matches we lost, we still showed some good stuff. It's a work in process and we are getting better. Tomorrow, we will have another long day, and the guys are looking forward to competing."
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—
