MOBILE, Ala. – South Alabama opened its season in dominant fashion Friday afternoon with a 6-1 victory over in-state rival Samford.
The victory pushed the Jaguars' record to 1-0 on the season. It was also the 24th-consecutive win at home for USA.
"I'm happy with the way we played," said South Alabama head coach Nick Brochu. "The gameplan was to have a big start, and in doubles, that's what we did. In singles we jumped on top of them and we got a couple of quick first sets, and that allowed us to relax and settle in a little bit. Overall, I'm very happy. We completed on every single court, so I'm very happy with the first game."
The Jaguars won two of three matches in doubles competition to win the doubles point and quickly jump out to a 1-0 lead. The duo of
Jack Clements and
Braden Hannig teamed up to win 6-1 to get things started. Rostislav Halfinger and
Juan Accossatto then combined for a 6-3 victory, which secured the point for the Jaguars.
"Early in the season what you look for is leadership, and I think Jack being our only senior and team captain, brought a lot of energy and was very vocal," Brochu said. "Playing with a freshman in Braden, he was able to guide him and Braden responded so well. The guys played amazing at number one, and got a big win to get us on the board early. At number two, Juan and Rostislav bonded very well. I was very happy with the way they played and helped each other."
When the match shifted to singles play, South continued its momentum with some strong results. Clements again put together a strong performance by defeating Samford's Maxwell Giddens 6-3, 6-3 in straight sets. In the number two singles match,
Javier Montoya earned USA's most dominant match of the day with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over his Bulldog opponent. Halfinger then became the third Jaguar to win in straight sets with a 6-2, 6-4 decision, and freshman Harold van Raemdonck won his college debut 7-5, 6-3. Finishing up the singles points for USA was Alabama native
Braden Hannig who came back from down one set to win 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3).
"In singles we jumped on top of them," Brochu added. Javier just took care of business. At the end, Samford came back and did some pretty good things, but overall, I'm happy with our performance today."
South Alabama will return to the courts Saturday with another in-state matchup against West Alabama. First serve is slated for 1 p.m. CT.'
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