BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's tennis team defeated Samford in a 5-2 decision Sunday afternoon at the Samford Tennis Center.

After falling in doubles, the Jags used a their service game to win all six first sets in singles action against the Bulldogs. Louis Delcour got South on the board after winning 6-4, 6-0 on court five against Samford's Matthew Gooch. The Jaguars kept the momentum going on courts two and three to take a 3-1 lead. The match was close on court four, but Sébastien Collard clinched for South with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Jim Hendrix.

SOUTH ALABAMA 5, SAMFORD 2
Date: 2/21
Place: Samford Tennis Center (Birmingham, Ala.)
Records: USA (4-3), SAM (3-5)  

DOUBLES
1. Victor Chow/Jim Hendrix (SAM) def. #52 Loic Cloes/Clément Marzol (USA) 6-4 
2. Eladio Febregas/Harrison Williams (SAM) def. Julien Evrard/Sebastien Collard (USA) 6-2
3. Louis Delcour/Martin Bugaj (USA) def. Rossouw Norval/Matthew Gooch (SAM) 7-5
Order of Finish: (2,1,3)

SINGLES
1. Norval (SAM) def. Evrard (USA) 5-7, 6-4, 7-5
2. Marzol (USA) def. Chow (SAM) 6-2, 6-2
3. Cloes (USA) def. Febregas (SAM) 6-3, 6-4
4. Collard (USA) def. Hendrix (SAM) 6-4, 7-5
5. Delcour (USA) def. Gooch (SAM) 6-4, 6-0
6. Bugaj (USA) def.Williams (SAM) 7-5, 7-5
Order of Finish: (5,2,3,4,6,1)

NOTES
- The Jaguars now hold a 5-0 lead in the all-time series between the two programs.
- South Alabama extended its current winning streak to three matches in a row.
- Marzol recorded his fifth consecutive singles victory this season, while Cloes posted the 87th singles win of his career. 
- Collard leads the Jags in singles play with a 12-3 overall record this season.
- It was the second time in as many days Marzol and Collard's won in singles in straight sets.
- Delcour and Bugaj earned their second win as a doubles pair against the Bulldogs.

UP NEXT
The Jaguars will return to action on Friday, Feb. 26, at 2 p.m. when they host South Florida at the Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts.

THEY SAID IT 
Head Coach Nick Brochu
- On doubles: "We had a slow and sloppy start in doubles. I don't know if we walked on the courts thinking this was going to be easy, but Samford came to play.  We were flat at No. 2 in doubles, and Samford played big at court one. We were disappointed with the outcome in doubles, so we had to regroup. We had a team meeting afterward, and we talked about how we had to step it up, go out there and dig."

- On singles: "We went into singles with a completely different attitude. Our goals were to dig and get loud, and I think we did well with that. Some courts were up and down, but we were working hard and getting loud as soon as we started winning first sets, especially from Louis [Delcour] and Clem [Marzol]. They won quickly in their first sets, and then right away, everyone else followed and we won the first set on all six courts. Samford tried to come back at the end, especially on court two, but we played hard until the end. I am very happy with how we fought today even though we didn't play well. We were struggling on some courts, but I'm happy that they pulled it out."

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