PEACHTREE CITY, Ga.  – The University of South Alabama men's tennis team swept No. 6 seed UTA 4-0 in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Friday afternoon at the Peachtree City Tennis Center.
 
The Jags jumped out to a blazing start in doubles as Sébastien Collard and Maxime St-Hilaire earned a quick 6-1 victory at No. 2. Javier Montoya and Martin Bugaj followed with a 6-2 win on court three to clinch the doubles point for South.
 
Bugaj continued his strong play in singles and put South Alabama up 2-0 with a win at No. 5 in straight sets. At the No. 1 spot, Collard also won in straight sets and extended the Jag lead to 3-0. On court six, Montoya clinched the match for South with a two-set victory.
 
South Alabama will take on No. 1 seed Georgia State in the Sun Belt Conference Finals on Saturday at 12 p.m. (CST).
 
Date: 4/15
Place: Peachtree City Tennis Center
Records: South Alabama 17-6 (4-1), UTA 13-12 (1-5)
 
DOUBLES
1. Jack Clements/Louis Delcour (USA) vs. Anton Shepp/Miguel Cabrera (UTA) 4-4, UF
2. Collard/St-Hilaire (USA) def. Solano Caffarena/Alan Sau Franco (UTA) 6-1
3. Bugaj/Montoya (USA) def. Maks Lukman/Daichi Akiyoshi (UTA) 6-2
Order of Finish: (2,3)
 
SINGLES
1. Collard (USA) def. Sau Franco (UTA) 7-6(4), 6-0
2. Clements (USA) vs. Cabrera (UTA) 6-7(8), 3-2, UF
3. Delcour (USA) vs. Shepp (UTA) 4-6, 7-5, UF
4. St-Hilaire (USA) vs. Caffarena (UTA) 1-6, 6-2, 3-2, UF
5. Bugaj (USA) def. Lukman (UTA) 6-3, 6-2
6. Montoya (USA) def. Akiyoshi (UTA) 6-4, 6-4
Order of Finish: (5,1,6)
 
NOTES
- USA leads UTA 7-1 in the all-time series.
- South has made the conference finals in each season dating back to 2014.
- On Saturday, South Alabama and Georgia State will meet in the finals for the fifth straight year, with the Jags winning the past three matchups.
- The Jags have won a season-high seven straight matches.
- South has clinched the doubles point in eight out of the past 10 matches.
- Collard and St-Hilaire are 13-4 playing at the No. 2 position this spring in doubles action.
- Bugaj and Montoya improved to 4-0 in their past six matches in doubles.
- Collard is now 24-8 this season in singles and is 14-6 this spring.
- Montoya earned his 10th win of the spring in singles competition.
- Bugaj has seven wins in singles in dual match play.
 
THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Nick Brochu
- On today's performance:
"It was a great battle. It was a very loud, emotional match. UTA is a great team and they play with a lot of passion. It was tough. The entire match was two and a half hours but it felt like a four-hour match. It was really intense and a lot of the games came down to the wire, especially on court six. We fought so hard. Javy [Montoya] came up big, especially at the end of the first set. That's what tennis is all about. Sometimes you went by just a few points here and there. What's important is to just win the big points and I think that's what we did. We played great in doubles. We didn't play perfect in doubles but we were close to it. We played the big points well and stuck to the strategy. We jumped on the opportunities to break and got the breaks early on all courts. It was really good and it was just solid doubles. The guys on No. 3 came up big again. When you are serving for the match and you make four first serves and win it straight up, that's very strong. I love to see that and it gives them confidence. We tried to carry that momentum into singles."
 
- On singles:
"Credit to UTA, they came back and fought so hard, especially at the top positions. At No. 3 and No. 4, they were just playing so well. They jumped on top of us early but we regrouped and got back into the match. We didn't get to finish at three and four but we won the second set in both and I feel like we had the momentum. We told our guys that maybe everyone might not win today but if you fall behind, stay on that court and don't let them finish out the match. Stay on the court and fight as long as you can. I think Louis [Delcour] and Max [St-Hilaire] both did a great job today of staying in there and making the match longer by winning the second set. They were both looking great in the third set. Martin [Bugaj] played a big match for us today. He had a guy that suited Martin's style perfectly and he took advantage of it. We told the guys that if you have a match that you can win quickly to put us on the board early and he definitely did that. It was just really smart tennis by Martin. Seb [Collard], I mean what can I say. He had a big first set and he stayed in there and came back and won a big tiebreaker. As soon as he won the tiebreaker, the momentum swung his way. He was confident, striking the ball well and just putting pressure on the other guy. He just took him down. There was nothing else other than Seb just outplaying his opponent in the second set. It was just great tennis. Everywhere else, it was a good battle. Javy just elevated his game in the second set on court six. He was kind of nervous in the first set. As soon as he won the first set, he started to relax and start hitting that big forehand of his. He just took over and dominated the rallies. Javy had a rough day yesterday and had a tough, tight first set today but he relaxed. With Javy winning the match like he did and clinching for the team is going to give him a lot of confidence headed into tomorrow. I'm very proud of those guys."
 
- On playing Georgia State in the finals:
"We are playing Georgia State tomorrow and we really know those guys well. It's pretty much the same team as last year. We are different from last year and our guys are excited. We played them earlier in the season but it was at their place and it was really windy. Tomorrow, we have to get ready and get some rest. Doubles is definitely going to be a big point tomorrow. We are really strong in doubles but so is Georgia State. I think both teams have some big players and it's going to be a great final."
 
UP NEXT
- The Jags will face No. 1 seed Georgia State in the finals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Saturday at 12 p.m. (CST).
 
—USA—