MOBILE, Ala. | South Alabama struck early by winning the doubles point and carried the momentum to singles play, beating West Florida 6-1 on Sunday afternoon at the Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts.
 
The Jags took an early lead in doubles with a quick 6-2 win at number two, where Elysia Pool and Nikola Novotna beat Aline Midori Silva and Meghan Kumria. South won the doubles point with a win from the doubles duo of Luminita Tutunaru and Tereza Dejnozkova beating Mayumi Saguchi and Jenna Svatos of West Florida 6-3.
 
South earned its second straight doubles sweep with a win from Delien Kleinhans and Chems Doha Zeghlouli at number three, beating Raissa Wagner and Guadalupe Martinez 6-3.
 
The Jags extended their lead to 2-0 with a dominant 6-0, 6-0 win from Nikola Novotna at number one, beating West Florida's Mayumi Saguchi. Luminita Tutunaru improved to 4-0 on the season in singles with a win at number two, beating Aline Midori Silva (UWF) 6-1, 6-0, to give South a 3-0 advantage. 
 
South clinched the match with a win at number six from Otoha Aoki, who beat West Florida's Meghan Kumria 6-1, 6-1. The Jags extended their lead to 5-0 with wins at number four and five, with Tereza Dejnozkova beating Carlota Verdu 6-3, 6-4 and Chems Doha Zeghlouli beating Jenna Svatos 6-1, 6-3.
 
West Florida spoiled the shutout with a win at number three, with Guadalupe Martinez beating Delien Kleinhans 3-6, 7-6, 10-8 in a grueling tiebreaker.
 
South hits the road next weekend for their first road match of the year, traveling to New Orleans for a pair of matches.  
 
Match Results
February 5, 2023
11 m – Mobile, Ala.
Singles
1. Nikola Novotna (USA) def. Mayumi Saguchi (UWF) 6-0, 6-0
2. Luminita Tutunaru (USA) def. Aline Midori Silva (UWF) 6-1, 6-0
3. Guadalupe Martinez (UWF) def. Delien Kleinhans (USA) 3-6, 7-6, 10-8
4. Tereza Dejnozkova (USA) def. Carlota Verdu (UWF) 6-3, 6-4
5. Chems Doha Zeghlouli (USA) def. Jenna Svatos (UWF) 6-1, 6-3
6. Otoha Aoki (USA) def. Meghan Kumria (UWF) 6-1, 6-1
 
Doubles
1. Luminita Tutunaru/Tereza Dejnozkova (USA) def. Mayumi Saguchi/Jenna Svatos (UWF) 6-3
2. Elysia Pool/Nikola Novotna (USA) def. Aline Midori Silva/Meghan Kumria (UWF) 6-2
3. Delien Kleinhans/Chems Doha Zeghlouli (USA) def. Raissa Wagner/Guadalupe Martinez (UWF) 6-3
 
Quotable from coach Dr. Jaco Keyser
"It was a good day for us.  I thought it was the best match for the year for us, probably against the strongest competition. I like to think that's the way it should be, we should show that progression of getting better and better as the season progresses. I liked doubles, that was the highlight of the day. We all came out organized and structured. I thought we played great singles. We had a little bit of a slip-up towards the end with one match, but we were firmly in control of the match as well. Overall a great day for the Jags."
 
Up Next
South Alabama travels to New Orleans for a neutral site match against Sam Houston Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
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