MOBILE, Ala. – South Alabama Men's Tennis picked up a huge rivalry win Saturday morning by taking down Troy, 4-2, at Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts.
The Jaguars improved to 5-10 overall for the season, including a 2-1 record in Sun Belt Conference play.
"What a great battle," said South Alabama head coach Nick Brochu. "Today was tough. We had a player out who couldn't play doubles or singles. We were down to only two teams in doubles, but we won the point anyway. Credit to Troy, they came back in singles play, but we're the Jags. It was a great effort. We're definitely coming together as a team."
The day started with some clutch doubles play for South as the Jaguars only had two doubles teams available. Needing to win both matches to clinch the doubles point, USA dominated both matches to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Braden Hannig and
Javier Montoya earned a 6-2 victory while
Harold van Raemdonck and
Juan Accossatto combined to win 6-1.
South Alabama hoped to carry the momentum into singles play, but Troy won five of six first sets to gain its own momentum. The Jaguars did not fold, though, as three players fought back from being down one set.
Braden Hannig was the lone Jag to win in straight sets on the day, but it took a little extra work with him having to win a tiebreak in the opening set. Hannig clinched the match with a final score of 7-6 (8-6), 7-5. Raemonck was the first South player to fight back from down one set to win. After dropping set one 2-6, Raemdonck dominated the next-two sets for a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory.
Holding a 3-2 lead, USA needed just one more point to clinch the rivalry victory. That win came courtesy of Victor Frumholz who had to fight his way back after dropping the opening set 0-6. He did so, and the Jaguars clinched the match behind his 0-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory.
South Alabama will now take a short break from conference play and host DePaul on Wednesday, March 26. First serve is slated for 2 p.m. CT.
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