PEACHTREE CITY, Ga.  – The University of South Alabama men's tennis team defeated No. 7 seed Georgia Southern 4-3 in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Thursday afternoon at the Peachtree City Tennis Center.
 
Martin Bugaj and Javier Montoya got South Alabama off to an early start in doubles with a 6-4 win on court three. After Georgia Southern evened things up with a win on court two, Jack Clements and Louis Delcour clinched the doubles point for the Jags with a 6-3 victory at No. 1.
 
In singles, the Eagles responded with three straight wins on courts six, five and four to grab a 3-1 lead. Clements won in straight sets at No. 2 and Delcour answered with a three-set win on court two to even the match at 3-3 for South Alabama.
 
Sébastien Collard, the Sun Belt Player of the Year, came up in the clutch at No. 1. Tied at 3-3, the junior won in three sets to clinch the match for the Jags 4-3.
 
The Jaguars advanced to the semifinals and will take on No. 6 seed UTA tomorrow at 1 p.m. (CST).
 
Date: 4/14
Place: Peachtree City Tennis Center
Records: South Alabama 16-6 (4-1), Georgia Southern 7-11 (1-5)
 
DOUBLES
1. Clements/Delcour (USA) def. Alexandros Roumpis/Valentin Dun (GS) 6-3
2. Tao Castillo/Pol del Castillo (GS) def. Collard/Maxime St-Hilaire (USA) 6-4
3. Bugaj/Montoya (USA) def. Jacob Mitchell/Laurent Julia Calac (GS) 6-4
Order of Finish: (3,2,1)
 
SINGLES
1. Collard (USA) def. del Castillo (GS) 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
2. Clements (USA) def. Roumpis (GS) 6-2, 7-6(3)
3. Delcour (USA) def. Castillo (GS) 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
4. Dimitris Paliouras (GS) def. St-Hilaire (USA) 6-1, 7-5
5. Dun (GS) def. Bugaj (USA) 6-4, 6-1
6. Julia Calac (GS) def. Montoya (USA) 6-4, 7-5
Order of Finish: (6,5,4,2,3,1)
 
NOTES
- USA leads Georgia Southern 9-2 in the all-time series. South has won eight straight meetings against the Eagles.
- The Jags have won a season-high six straight matches.
- South has won the doubles point in seven out of the past nine matches.
- Clements and Delcour are 6-1 at the No. 1 in doubles dating back to March 25. Clements and Delcour have won five out of the past six matches.
- Bugaj and Montoya are 3-0 in their past five matches in doubles.
- Delcour has won six straight matches in singles play and is 25-7 on the season.
- Clements improved to 12-5 this spring and 6-3 at the No. 2 spot in singles.
- Collard is now 23-8 this season in singles and is 13-6 this spring.
 
THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Nick Brochu
- On today's performance:
"What a big battle. Number one, congratulations to Georgia Southern. They really stepped up today and took it to us. Jeremy [Bayon] does a really good job and coached them very well. These guys were definitely not afraid of us today. I told the guys that every year that we have won the championship, there is one round where we struggled. Hopefully, today was the one that we really struggled with. Doubles was not pretty but we got it done. I think we showed a lot of character and experience today, especially from our top players. Today was hard and ugly tennis, but you have to get the job done. We just have to regroup and get ready for tomorrow. I think our freshman got a little tight and nervous with this being their first time being in this spot where if you lost, you go home. I think it was because they really didn't want to disappoint their teammates. At the same time, you have to make sure you don't put too much pressure on yourself. We have a lot of players on the team and everybody is doing their share of carrying their share. Tomorrow, I'm sure they are going to bounce back. We found ourselves down 3-2 and we didn't panic. There were some matches that we felt comfortable and get to the finish line first. We get to the end and it is down to our two captains. Louis [Delcour] showed why he is first team all-conference and he came up big in the third set to tie it at 3-3. At the end, it was Seb [Collard] the player of the year versus the freshman of the year. Georgia Southern's guy is going to be a great player but Seb stepped up today and showed a lot of character. He wants to be in that position and he showed it today. He's not afraid of the pressure and he wants to take us to the promised land. I'm very proud of both of those guys. We didn't give up. It was close today and Georgia Southern probably played their best match of the season but we were able to get the win. Georgia Southern had a big crowd out there and it was tough for us at times. Tonight, we have to do a lot of hydrating, rehab and resting to get ready for tomorrow."
 
- On UTA:
"UTA is riding a high. They just beat Louisiana and that was a big win for them. Louisiana is one of the best teams in the conference and they probably had the best season out of the conference teams. They were the highest ranked team out of our conference and that was just a big win for UTA. UTA is a team that plays with a lot of emotion. We played them at home a couple of weeks ago and it was a very long match. It was emotional and it was intense. They scream a lot and they wear their hearts on their sleeves. We have to make sure that we are ready for that. We beat them at home but this is the conference tournament, it's a little different. The doubles point will be a huge point tomorrow. Even though it's just one point, you grab the momentum. Winning three points sometimes looks so much easier than having to get four. We're looking good in doubles. I liked the way our No. 3 doubles team stepped up today. Everyone talks about our No. 1 and No. 2 teams because they got the big awards and were first team in the conference. Today, our No. 3 doubles team came up clutch. They were the first ones to win and they beat a good Georgia Southern team. They were aggressive and confident and I'm really proud of how they played."
 
UP NEXT
- The Jags will face No. 6 seed UTA in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Friday at 1 p.m. (CST).
 
—USA—