AUBURN, Ala.  – The University of South Alabama men's tennis team lost at No. 24 Auburn 5-2 Friday afternoon at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
 
Auburn got off to a quick start in doubles, taking courts two and three to clinch the doubles point for the Tigers.
 
In singles, Auburn went up 2-0 after a win on court five. Maxime St-Hilaire answered with a win in straight sets on court four to cut the lead to 2-1. The Tigers pushed the lead to 5-1 and clinched the match with wins on courts three, six and one.
 
Jack Clements forced a third set and took down No. 84 Jan Galka on court two to make the final 5-2.
 
Date: 2/11
Place: Yarbrough Tennis Center
Records: South Alabama 6-2, Auburn 6-0
 
DOUBLES
1. Clements/Louis Delcour (USA) vs. Finn Murgett/Tad Maclean (AU) 3-2, UF
2. #44 Galka/Tyler Stice (AU) def. Collard/St-Hilaire (USA) 6-2
3. Raul Dobai/Maxwell Giddens (AU) def. Martin Bugaj/Juan Accossatto (USA) 6-1
Order of Finish: (2,3)
 
SINGLES
1. #95 Stice (AU) def. Collard (AU) 7-6(5), 4-6, 1-0(4)
2. Clements (USA) def. #84 Galka (AU) 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-3
3. #85 Maclean (AU) def. Delcour (USA) 6-1, 7-6(2)
4. St-Hilaire (USA) def. Dobai (AU) 6-3, 6-2
5. Murgett (AU) def. Bugaj (USA) 6-3, 6-0
6. Will Nolan (AU) def. Javier Montoya (USA) 6-4, 7-6(2)
Order of Finish: (5,4,3,6,1,2)
 
NOTES
- USA drops to 2-8 all-time against Auburn.
- Clements and Delcour were leading on court one in doubles before Auburn clinched the doubles point. Murgett and Maclean finished as the national runner-up in doubles last season.
- St-Hilaire remains unbeaten (6-0) in dual match play in singles this year.
- Clements improved to 5-0 this spring in singles competition.
 
THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Nick Brochu
- On today's performance:
"It was a really great battle. I was happy with the way we played today. Auburn is a great team and just broke the top 25 in the team rankings. They are definitely talented, have a lot of depth and are strong at every position. So, we talked about we needed to be aggressive and that we couldn't play loose because they could take over the match. I thought we played really well at number one in doubles but unfortunately, we didn't get to finish that match. On two and three, we returned a little too soft and Auburn was really aggressive at the net. We made a few errors in our service game and it doesn't take much like a good team like Auburn to jump on us and get the doubles break. In doubles, it was okay but we need to be able to stand up and stay strong even when facing big teams. After doubles, we talked about controlling what you can control, which is the guy in front of you and don't pay attention to the score. Just play your game and don't overplay your game. We had some unbelievable matches. Unfortunately, Louis [Delcour] got a leg injury and could barely run but he stuck in there. We were debating on pulling him or not and every time we said one more game, he would break the guy and take the lead. He fought until the very end. I wish Louis could have played that match at 100 percent, that would have been a great match. I thought on number six, what a battle. You love to see your freshman getting into it and fighting. Even though Javy [Montoya] didn't win, I'm proud of him for fighting and fighting until the end. He had his chances and even had a set point in the second set and could have went the distance.
 
- On Sébastien Collard, Jack Clements and Maxime St-Hilaire's performances:
"With Seb [Collard], when you play at that high of a level and both players are playing really well, it is a coin toss. Seb maybe got nervous with a few points and that can be the end of story with a tiebreaker. I'm still really proud of him and I thought if it went to a full third set he could have gone in his favor. He was controlling the second set and had the momentum. Jack [Clements] played great. He felt like he was in position to win the first set and his opponent came up big in the tiebreaker. When you work really hard and lose in a tiebreaker, it hurts. We just talked about putting it in the past and stick to the game plan and be disciplined. He did great and came up with a big win. Max [St-Hilaire] kept impressing. He was down a break early in the match but fought back. Every game was a battle. I don't think there was any easy games both ways. But at the end, I think Max was just too tough and brought back too many balls. I think that got into the head of their player. But Max definitely took advantage of the situation. Max is really tough to play against and we are lucky to have him. Overall, I'm really happy. That score could have gone the other way. Our guys are improving from game to game and match to match. We have another one this weekend and two next weekend. We just need to keep on improving one step at a time and I think today was a step in the right direction."
 
UP NEXT
- The Jags will host Chattanooga on Sunday at 1 p.m. (CST) at the Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts.
 
—USA—