TAMPA, Fla.  – The University of South Alabama men's tennis team fell 4-0 to No. 69 USF on Wednesday afternoon at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts.
 
In doubles, USF opened with a victory on court one. Sébastien Collard and Maxime St-Hilaire evened things up with a 6-4 win on court two. The Bulls clinched the doubles point with a win on court three.
 
USF earned wins on courts two and three in singles to push the lead to 3-0. St-Hilaire battled back to force a third set on court four but South Florida won in the third set to clinch the match.
 
Collard, Martin Bugaj and Javier Montoya each forced a third set before the match was called.
 
Date: 3/2
Place: USF Varsity Tennis Courts
Records: South Alabama 9-5, USF 5-5
 
DOUBLES
1. Rithvik Bollipalli/Bruno Olivera (USF) def. Jack Clements/Louis Delcour (USA) 6-1
2. Collard/St-Hilaire (USA) def. Chase Ferguson/Antonio Muniz (USF) 6-4
3. Alvin Tudorica/Sergio Gomez-Montesa (USF) def. Bugaj/Montoya (USA) 6-4
Order of Finish: (1,2,3)
 
SINGLES
1. Collard (USA) vs. No. 93 Ferguson (USF) 1-6, 6-3, 4-5, UF
2. Muniz (USF) def. Clements (USA) 7-5, 6-4
3. Gomez-Montesa (USF) def. Delcour (USA) 7-5, 6-2
4.) Tudorica (USF) def. St-Hilaire (USA) 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
5. Bugaj (USA) vs. Olivera (USF) 2-6, 7-6(5), 1-2, UF
6. Montoya (USA) vs. Tom Pisane (USF) 5-7, 6-4, 2-0
Order of Finish: (2,3,4)
 
NOTES
- South Alabama drops to 9-11 all-time against USF, with six of those wins coming on the road.
- Collard and St-Hilaire are tied for first on the team with 10 victories as a pair in doubles. The duo is 7-2 in doubles action this spring.
- Collard and St-Hilaire have won four of their past five matches playing at number two in doubles.
- St-Hilaire leads the Jags with nine wins in singles action this spring.
- Clements, Collard and Delcour are tied for second with eight wins in singles dual play.
 
 
THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Nick Brochu
- On today's performance:
"It was a tough match but we did some good things. Number one, I'm pretty happy with the way that we are growing on this trip. We are a very young team and sometimes the problem can be fighting and being mature. I think we have made some really good steps forward on this trip. We aren't playing our best tennis yet, but we are definitely fighting extremely hard. Our young guys are getting more mature on the court and showing more character. Now, there are some improvements we have to make. I think what we struggle with right now is being consistent with how aggressive and loud we are. We have different guys stepping up at times but we have to have everybody step up. Everybody needs to step up and play some big tennis. Because that is what it takes to win the conference. But, at least I've seen everybody at one point on this trip showing me what I need. So, that's encouraging. I think those big matches make us better. We are coming back 1-2 and UNCW was a big win. I think overall it is good. That is why we did this trip before we head home and start conference play. The other thing we need to work on, whenever we are in position to get a point, we have to get it done and make sure the other team doesn't come back like today. We were in position to win number three fairly quick. We were up 3-0 and serving and we had point to go up 4-0. And we just didn't take care of business. All of sudden it goes to 3-1 and they are back in the match. At the end, it came down to that match and it should have come down to number two, which we won. It was the same thing in singles. I strongly believe that we would have won at five and six. But at six, we were up a break in the third and we were cruising, but that was a match that we should have won in two sets. At the end of the day that is still a win but if you win early and put your team on the board, it takes some pressure off some of the other guys and it puts pressure on them. It makes a big difference because tennis is a game of momentum. We are learning and getting better, we just have to put the puzzle together before we start conference play.
 
UP NEXT
- The Jags returns home to face Southern Miss on March 11 at 2 p.m. (CST) at the Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts.
 
—USA—