ORLANDO, Fla. – South Alabama men's tennis got off to a fast start Tuesday by winning the doubles point, but ultimately fell to UCF, 4-1, when the Knight took four singles matches.
 
The setback dropped the Jaguars to 4-6 for the season. It was the third-consecutive match USA played against a ranked opponent.
 
"We had a great start, but just not enough today," said head coach Nick Brochu. "Doubles was high level. We were on fire at number three. We got on top of them early and just kept our foot on the gas. Harold and Juan have been clicking lately and today was a good example. That kind of gave confidence to our other doubles teams."
 
Juan Accossatto and Harold van Raemdonck combined to play a dominant doubles match and earn a quick, 6-1 victory. After Rostislav Halfinger and Theo Mottier narrowly dropped their match 4-6, it was up to Jack Clements and Braden Hannig to win and earn the Jags the doubles point. After UCF fought off match point and send the match to a tiebreak, Clements and Hannig dominated the tiebreak, winning 7-2 to clinch a 7-6 (7-2) victory.
 
"We were in position to serve for the match and close it, but UCF played some big returns and broke us," Brochu Added. "But we were able to regroup and plan an excellent breaker, which was good to see."
 
Singles was a different story for South as UCF won four matches in straight sets to quickly earn the victory. Accossatto took the first set off his opponent 7-5 and was up 4-3 in the second set, but the match went unfinished after the Knights earned four points to seal the win.
 
The Jags will now remain in Florida and travel to Jacksonville for a matchup at North Florida Thursday. First serve is slated for 1 p.m. CT.
 
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