MOBILE, Ala. – South Alabama men's tennis turned in one of its strongest showings of the season Friday with a clean, 7-0 sweep of No. 73 UAB.
 
The win pushed the Jaguars back to .500 on the season with a 4-4 record.
 
"We knew that UAB was good, so we had to have a good start," said head coach Nick Brochu. "I'm very happy with doubles. We actually tried some new pairs at two and three, and we gelled very good. Going into singles, we knew UAB wasn't going to go away. We have a good rivalry with them and in the past have had some 4-3 battles. We started singles and were losing a few, so it looked like another tough battle, but our guys were really focused on just getting the job done."
 
South's new doubles combinations were the ones that got the job done and allowed the Jags to win the doubles point. Rostislav Halfinger and Javier Montoya combined for a 6-2 victory while Juan Accossatto and Harold van Raemdonck teamed up to earn a 6-4 decision and secure a 1-0 lead for the Jaguars.
 
The start of singles play was a mixed bag for USA with a few Jags dropping their first sets, but several others won in straight sets to give the team some momentum. Braden Hannig earned a big singles victory 6-3, 6-2 to get things started, and true freshman van Raemdonck was right behind him with a 6-4, 6-4 win. Accossatto finished up the straight-set victories by defeating his opponent from UAB 7-6 (8-6), 6-1.
 
On courts one, two and three, the Jaguars were in for extended battles but got the job done at each spot in the lineup. Jack Clements won his first set but dropped the second in a tiebreak. He and his opponent played a first to 10 super tiebreak which Clements dominated 10-2 to earn a final score of 6-2, 6-7 (7-4), 1-0 (10-2). On court three, Halfinger quickly lost his first set 6-0 but immediately climbed back in the second set to send it to a deciding third set where he won in tiebreak fashion. His final score ended as 0-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4). Montoya's match followed the same pattern as Halfinger's, and he was able to secure his win 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (9-7).
 
South will now begin a four-match road swing with a trip to Florida State on Sunday, Feb. 25. First serve is slated for 1:30 p.m. CT.
 
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