AUBURN, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's tennis team opened qualifying play in singles and doubles Thursday at Auburn for the ITA Regionals.

Louis Delcour, Sébastien Collard and Maxime St-Hilaire each advanced to the third round of the qualifiers in singles competition.

Tomorrow, Delcour will take on Fynn Kuenkler (Tulane) at 8:30 a.m. Collard will play Alex Bancila (Tulane) at 10:00 a.m. and St-Hilaire will face David Jeanne Grandinot (Alabama State) at 10:00 a.m.

MATCH INFORMATION
Dates: 10/14
Place: Yarbrough Tennis Courts (Auburn, Ala.)
Teams: Alabama, Alabama State, Alcorn State, Auburn, Jacksonville State, Louisiana, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Samford, Southern Miss, Troy, Tulane and UAB.

SINGLES
- Delcour (USA) def. Alexander Gima (USM) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
- Joao Ferreira (ALA) def. Javier Montoya (USA) 6-2, 6-1
- Collard (USA) 6-3, 6-1 def. Kristofer Johnson (ALA ST) 6-3, 6-1
- St-Hilaire (USA) def. Thanos Spyropoulos (UAB) 7-5, 6-2

NOTES
- No team results will be recorded.
- Delcour improved to 7-1 this fall in singles and has won seven straight.
- Collard is 13-0 the last two seasons in singles tournament action.
- St-Hilaire has won five straight matches in singles play this fall.

THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Nick Brochu
- On the Louis and Max at ITA Regionals: "It was a great start today. We didn't play well on each match, even though we won three. There were some matches that we were struggling and we were down. But, the good thing is that we didn't panic. Louis [Delcour] was down a set and a break and he had to change up the rhythm to neutralize his opponent because his opponent was playing really well. He had to find a way to get him out of his zone and he did a great job and showed a lot of experience. This is his fourth season with us and you could tell. It's not his first rodeo so, he stayed calm and mixed it up. He got back in the match and then took it from there. I'm very proud of him. It was the same thing Max [St-Hilaire]. He had to save three set points in the first set and he stayed composed and took care of business.

- On the Sébastien and Javier at ITA Regionals: "Seb [Collard] has been playing awesome the whole semester. He knew right from the start that he was able to execute at a high level. He's been practicing extremely hard and it shows. It was a great day for Seb. Javy [Montoya] played a great player. I think he was playing well but he was feeling the pressure. His opponent was playing really aggressive and he wasn't able to settle and establish his game. It was tough for him to set up his forehand like he normally does. I think that maybe made him a little nervous and tried to go for bigger shots than he should have. But, credit to the guy he played. He put a lot of pressure on Javy and had a big serve. Tomorrow, he has another match so we are looking forward to him to establish his game and be a little more himself. We are looking forward to tomorrow. We've got big matches tomorrow, possibly two matches in order to qualify and get into the main draw."


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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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