PEACHTREE CITY, Ga.  – The University of South Alabama men's tennis team fell 4-1 to No. 63 Georgia State in the Sun Belt Championship on Saturday afternoon at the Peachtree City Tennis Center.
 
In doubles, Georgia State took courts one and three to clinch the doubles point.
 
Sébastien Collard responded with a quick two-set victory at No. 1 to tie the match at 1-1 for South Alabama. Georgia State would go on to win on courts two, six and five to close the match for the Panthers.
 
Date: 4/16
Place: Peachtree City Tennis Center
Records: South Alabama 17-7 (4-1), Georgia State 17-7 (5-1)
 
DOUBLES
1. No. 85 Roberts Grinvalds/Andrei Duarte (GSU) def. Jack Clements/Louis Delcour (USA) 6-2
2. Collard/Maxime St-Hilaire (USA) vs. Harvey Maughan/Kevin Huynh (GSU) 4-4, UF
3. Patrick Lazo/Diego Padilha (GSU) def. Martin Bugaj/Javier Montoya (USA) 6-3
Order of Finish: (1,3)
 
SINGLES
1. Collard (USA) def. Duarte (GSU) 6-4, 6-2
2. Grinvalds (GSU) def. Clements (USA) 6-4, 6-4
3. Delcour (USA) vs. Shubladze (GSU) 6-2, 3-6, 4-2, UF
4. St-Hilaire (USA) vs. Huynh (GSU) 6-7(4), 5-5, UF
5. Maughan (GSU) def. Bugaj (USA) 2-6, 6-1, 6-1
6. Lazo (GSU) def. Montoya (USA) 6-2, 7-5
Order of Finish: (1,2,6,5)
 
NOTES
- The Jags lead the all-time series 9-8.
- USA has won three out of the past four Sun Belt Conference Championships.
- South has made the conference finals in each season dating back to 2014.
- South Alabama and Georgia State have met in five straight championship games, with South holding a 3-2 advantage.
- Collard, the Sun Belt Player of the Year, improved to 25-8 this season in singles and is 15-6 this spring.

THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Nick Brochu
- On today's performance:
"Well, it was a great fight. It definitely hurts and I know the guys are extremely disappointed. We gave it our all. I'll be honest, nobody this year really gave us a chance. Everybody talked about how we lost our big number one through three from last year and how we were rebuilding. The coaches and players on this team knew that we had something special. We still believed that we could go all the way. This team proved a lot this year. I'm extremely proud of them and those guys really came together. We had an amazing end of the season and nobody can take that away from us. Georgia State is a great team and it was a big challenge. We lost our top three players from last year and they didn't lose anybody. It's definitely not an excuse but Georgia State earned it today. We didn't give it to them that's for sure. We fought them until the end and had a bunch of matches go three sets. It could have gone either way. I'm just so proud of those guys. I met up with the guys after and we talked about how much it hurts but we aren't going to forget about and use it as motivation for next year. We are going to try to use that feeling today and not have that happen again. I know the guys are going to practice so hard next year to keep that from happening. A few things played against us today."
 
- On fatigue playing a factor:
"Our last five matches were so long, playing Louisiana, Coastal, UTA, FAU and those matches were three to four hours each. We did as much rehab and recovery as we could. It felt like our guys were almost exhausted. In the finals today, some of our guys were just playing on fumes, they had zero legs. Louis [Delcour] showed so much heart. He was about to win and he was up a break in the third and you could just see that he was at maybe 50 percent at best. He showed so much heart, he gave everything he had and more. That first round against Georgia Southern definitely took a lot out of us. UTA yesterday was emotional and tough. You could see it. It was only Georgia State's second match of the tournament and they definitely looked fresher than us. They were very explosive but we competed so hard. We gave them an amazing battle and I'm very proud of our guys. It's tough, even though we are in Peachtree City, we are only 30 minutes from Atlanta. Georgia State brought more than 50 fans. So, it definitely felt like we were on the road and they were at home. It was a challenge today but my guys rose to the challenge like champs. Even after losing the first set, they fought back."
 
- On what the team accomplished and the future:
"It's just pretty amazing what we accomplished this year with this young team. We have no seniors on the team and we only have one junior. So, everybody is going to be back. Seb [Collard] is going to be back for two years and same thing with Jack [Clements]. Louis is going to be back for another year. Then the guys in the back all have three more years. The future is very, very promising. Those guys are hungry and they gave everything they had and I can't ask for more and I'm just so proud of them."

 
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
 
Join the Baseline Club, the tennis-specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All donations to the Baseline Club go directly to support the South Alabama men's and women's tennis programs. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/baselineclub
 
—USA—