TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The University of South Alabama men's tennis team gained a 1-0 match lead after picking up the doubles point, but fell 4-2 to Florida State Friday afternoon at the Scott Speicher Tennis Center in its first dual match of the spring. 

FLORIDA STATE (4), SOUTH ALABAMA (2) 
Date: 1/22
Stadium (Location): Scott Speicher Tennis Center (Tallahassee, Fla.)

DOUBLES
1. Alex Knaff/Sebastian Arcila (FSU) vs. Loïc Cloes /Clément Marzol (USA) 5-4, unfinished
2. Julien Evrard /Sébastien Collard (USA) def. Loris Pourroy/Marcus Walters (FSU) 6-4
3 Louis Delcour /Leon Pet'ko (USA) def. Richard Thongoana/Andreja Petrovic (FSU) 6-3
Order of Finish: (3, 2)

SINGLES
1. #77 Pourroy (FSU) def. Marzol (USA) 6-4, 7-5
2. Evrard (USA) def. Thongoana (FSU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
3. Cloes (USA) vs. Arcila (FSU) 7-5, 5-5, unfinished
4. Petrovic (FSU) def. Collard (USA) 7-6, 6-4
5. Walters (FSU) def. Delcour (USA) 6-1, 1-6, 6-4
6. Enzo Le Seguillon (FSU) def. Pet'ko (USA) 6-4, 6-3
Order of Finish: (6,1,4,2,5)

NOTES
- The match versus Florida State marked the first dual match of 2021 for South Alabama.
- Collard and Evrard earned their seventh victory in doubles as a pair this season.
- Evrard captured his seventh singles win of the season, improving to 7-3.
- Delcour and Pet'ko picked up their first doubles win (6-3) as a pair this season.
- Four of the five completed singles matches were decided in straight sets.

UP NEXT
- The Jaguars will return home to host West Alabama in a doubleheader beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 30 at the Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts.

THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Nick Brochu
- On today's performance: "We had very good battle and we fought well, but nonetheless, we're definitely disappointed. In the past, we've battled Florida State and we came very close. Three years ago, it came down to the wire and we lost 4-3, but today was very disappointing because we had the lead and we just let them come back. In the past, we were the underdogs where we were just competing with them and we didn't feel the pressure. Today, when we took the lead we definitely felt the pressure and that's very disappointing. There's a reason why we play a high-level schedule. We expect our juniors and seniors to compete and lead the way and that was not the case today."

"We won the doubles point in a great fashion by being aggressive and assertive, but then we went into singles where we started really well. If you want to upset a higher ranked team, you have to take advantage of leading early and finish the match. We need to turn this into a learning experience, because we have a very strong schedule. We were able to make a statement early with our aggressiveness and that's something to be proud of and now, we need to learn to finish the race off strong."

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