JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After dropping the doubles point early, South Alabama men's tennis fought back to earn a 5-2 victory at North Florida Thursday afternoon.
 
The win improved South's record to 5-6 overall on the season. It also marked the first road win of the season for the Jaguars.
 
"Playing UNF has always been tough. Every single match is always close, and we knew this one was going to be a battle again," said South Alabama head coach Nick Brochu. "I'm very proud of our guys and their ability to turn it around after messing up the doubles point. It was very frustrating but we put it behind us."
 
Despite playing tough, the Jaguars dropped both doubles matches on courts one and two by a score of 6-4. Juan Accossatto and Harold van Raemdonck led 5-4 on court three before their match went unfinished.
 
USA was able to quickly regroup in singles play, staring with van Raemdonck. He made quick work of his UNF opponent, winning in straight sets by a score of 6-2, 6-4.
 
"Harold was very quick putting us on the board," Brochu added. "We were able to tie the match at one all, and that gave us a boost."
 
The remainder of the singles matches were all battles, either going three sets or seven games. On court one, Jack Clements dropped the first set but fought back to take the next two to give the Jags a point with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory. On court two, Javier Montoya was the other Jaguar to win in straight sets by defeating UNF's Rodrigo Crespo 7-5, 7-5. Rostislav Halfinger then put up a huge fight in the second set to stave off his opponent and win 2-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-1. Accossatto rounded out the singles points for USA with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 decision.
 
"We won some first sets, and in the matches we lost the first set, we came back stronger to win the second set," Brochu said. "We felt like that gave us the momentum in the match. It was just a matter of keeping the pressure on and getting that win. We're not looking for perfection, we're looking to get better. I think everybody is getting better and we're getting stronger as a team. UNF is a good team, and down the road that is going to be a win that will definitely help our ranking."
 
The Jags will now head to Virginia to begin Sun Belt Conference play. League competition starts at Old Dominion on Friday, March 15. South will then visit James Madison to take on the Dukes on Sunday, March 17.
 
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