STATESBORO, Ga.  – The University of South Alabama men's tennis team opened up conference play with a 4-2 win at Georgia Southern on Saturday afternoon.
 
In doubles, Georgia Southern started with a win on court three. USA rallied back as Sébastien Collard and Maxime St-Hilaire won on court two, while Louis Delcour and Jack Clements clinched the doubles point with a victory on court one.
 
In singles, Collard earned a quick two-set win on court one to put the Jags up 2-0. Javier Montoya won in two sets to extend the lead to 3-0. Georgia Southern won on courts three and four to make it 3-2. South had match points on courts two and six and Delcour fought back after losing the first set to clinch the match 4-1 for the Jags.
 
Date: 3/19
Place: Wallis Tennis Center
Records: South Alabama 10-5, Georgia Southern 6-6
 
DOUBLES
1. Clements/Delcour (USA) def. Alexandros Roumpis/Valentin Dun (GSU) 7-5
2. Collard/St-Hilaire (USA) def. Tao Castillo/Alex Suk (GSU) 6-4
3. Pol del Castillo/Jacob Mitchell (GSU) def. Martin Bugaj/Montoya (USA) 6-4
Order of Finish: (3,2,1)
 
SINGLES
1. Collard (USA) def. Pol del Castillo (GSU) 6-3, 6-1
2. Delcour (USA) def. Roumpis (GSU) 6-7, 6-4, 6-1
3. Castillo (GSU) def. Clements (USA) 7-6(4), 7-6(5), 6-2
4. Dimitris Paliouras (GSU) def, St-Hilaire (USA) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
5. Montoya (USA) def. Dun (GSU) 7-6(2), 6-3
6. Bugaj (USA) vs. Laurent Julia Calac (GSU) 4-6, 6-4, 5-2, UF
Order of Finish: (1,5,3,4,2)
 
NOTES
- South Alabama improves to 8-2 all-time against Georgia Southern and have won the past seven meetings since 1990.
- USA is 1-0 in conference play.
- Collard and St-Hilaire are now 8-2 in doubles action this spring and have won five of their past six matches playing at number two in doubles.
- Delcour and Collard are tied for first with nine wins in singles dual play. St-Hilaire also has nine wins in singles.
- Montoya won his sixth match in singles in the spring.
 
THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Nick Brochu
- On today's performance:
"It was probably one of the worse matches we have played all season. I wasn't happy with the way that we played. We were extremely up and down. Yesterday, we had a long drive to come here and only got to practice for 15 minutes. Today, it looked like it was going to rain. I don't know if we were lacking focus or what. We were just flat in doubles. We just weren't consistent. In other words, we just couldn't do the basic things properly. At the end of the day, I told our guys that it isn't about playing pretty, it is about winning. We got a win and it was probably one of the ugliest wins that we have won all season, but we got the win. So, we got the job done and have to move on. We have to make sure that we are ready for tomorrow because Georgia State will certainly be ready. It was a rough, ugly day but we got the job done and that's all that matters at the end of the day. On a positive note, Seb [Collard] was a leader today. He came on the court and he was loud and he played really well. Everybody else struggled but Seb was very aggressive and took it to his opponent. It was great to see that and I'm very proud of him, that's what you expect from your captain. On ugly days, you look to leadership from your captain and he certainly showed that today. Louis [Delcour] clinched the match didn't play great and wasn't hitting the ball well and lost the first set. But, he responded and won the next two sets to clinch and that is what you want and expect out of your captains. Both of those guys delivered today."
 
UP NEXT
- The Jags will take on Georgia State in Atlanta on Sunday at 9:00 a.m. (CST).
 
—USA—