MOBILE, Ala. – South Alabama Men's Tennis Dropped a hard-fought match against Old Dominion Friday at Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts by a score of 4-3.
The setback dropped the Jags to 6-11 for the season with a 2-2 mark in Sun Belt Conference play.
"That was a tough one to swallow," said South Alabama head coach Nick Brochu. "We knew it was going to be a battle. It's always a battle every year. It's one of the biggest rivalries in the Sun Belt. They just played better doubles than us today, but then we went out there in singles and all of a sudden, we got the momentum going. We won the first set on one, two, three and four. What hurt us today is we were pretty much absent on courts five and six. But the positives are that Javi, H and Braden won in straight sets. Juan was up a set and in full control, but then the cramps came. It's so frustrating, but it's part of the game. That's just tennis. We'll use this to fuel ourselves and get ready for Sunday."
ODU jumped on the scoreboard early by claiming victory in doubles. The Monarchs won by a score of 6-3 on courts one and two, though Victor Frumholz and Adam Bouyacoub held a 5-4 victory on court three before their match was abandoned.
South was able to fight back in singles play, quickly shifting the momentum with some big wins in straight sets.
Javier Montoya got the Jags on the board by winning on court one by a score of 6-3, 6-2. He was followed by
Harold van Raemdonck who continued his strong play with a 6-4, 6-3 straight-sets victory.
Braden Hannig then gave the Jaguars the lead by knocking off his Monarch opponent by a score of 7-5, 6-2.
The match came down to a three-set thriller on court four where
Juan Accossatto battled injury to keep the Jags in the fight. Ultimately, Old Dominion was able to clinch victory on that court and win the match by a score of 4-3.
South Alabama will continue Sun Belt Conference play on Sunday, March 30 when James Madison comes to town. The Jaguars and Dukes will open play at 10 a.m. CT.
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