CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas ? The University of South Alabama men’s tennis team split its matches on the first day of the HEB Tournament of champions at Texas A&M- Corpus Christi Friday.
The Jaguars came from behind to defeat No. 50 DePaul, 4-3, before falling in the semifinals 4-0 to 35th-ranked Texas Tech.
USA started the day by falling to the Blue Demons in doubles play, with losses on the No. 2 and No. 3 courts.
“We had our chances,” Jag head coach Nick Brochu said, “but played soft and lost the lead we had on two courts early in the match. The guys were motivated in singles and they worked very hard to get the lead.”
In singles action South Alabama dropped the first two matches at the No. 1 and No. 5 positions, giving DePaul a 3-0 lead. The Jaguars came back to win the remaining four matches.
Freshman Leo Dominguez defeated DePaul’s Bartosz Jozwiak in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, at the No. 4 position. On the No. 2 court Jaguar senior Marek Sramek beat José Moncada 6-4, 7-6 (5-0). South Alabama’s Dauw Kruger tied the match at 3-3 by beating Vanja Grgec 6-4, 6-3. Freshman Romain Bocaert clinched the victory for the Jags defeating Ben Hartman 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 at the No. 3 position.
“Romain stepped it up at the end to close the match,” Bruchu said. “I told him the more aggressive player will leave with the win. Romain displayed his maturity today. He really showed his skills, but especially his heart.”
The day’s second match would begin with singles instead of the doubles portion, with the Red Raiders swept the Jags in four straight matches.
“We fought hard but couldn’t come up with the big points.” Brochu said. “Texas Tech played very solid.”
The Jaguars will wrap up the HEB Tournament of Champions College Tennis Championships against No. 33 New Mexico at 9 a.m. on Saturday.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251)461-1USA(1872).
Match 1
Tennis Match Results
University of South Alabama vs DePaul
3/6/2009 at Corpus Christi, Texas
University of South Alabama 4, #50 DePaul 3
Singles competition
1. Austin Doerner (DEPAUL) def. Sergio Ramirez (USAM) 3-2, 99-0
2. Marek Sramek (USAM) def. José Moncada (DEPAUL) 6-4, 7-6 (5-0)
3. Romain Bocaert (USAM) def. Ben Hartman (DEPAUL) 6-2, 1-6, 6-4
4. Leo Dominguez (USAM) def. Bartosz Jozwiak (DEPAUL) 6-3, 6-4
5. Alasdair Graetz (DEPAUL) def. Hanno Bartsch (USAM) 6-3, 6-4
6. Dauw Kruger (USAM) def. Vanja Grgec (DEPAUL) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Austin Doerner/Ben Hartman (DEPAUL) vs. Sergio Ramirez/Leo Dominguez (USAM) 7-8, unfinished
2. Matija Palinic/Bartosz Jozwiak (DEPAUL) def. Romain Bocaert/Hanno Bartsch (USAM) 8-5
3. Alasdair Graetz/José Moncada (DEPAUL) def. Marek Sramek/Aaron Krisan (USAM) 9-7
Match Notes:
University of South Alabama 6-5
DePaul 10-3; National ranking #50
Match 2
Tennis Match Results
University of South Alabama vs Texas Tech
3/6/2009 at Corpus Christi, Texas
#35 Texas Tech 4, University of South Alabama 0
Singles competition
1. Raony Carvalho (TTU) vs. Marek Sramek (USAM) 7-6, unfinished
2. Sinisa Markovic (TTU) def. Romain Bocaert (USAM) 6-2, 6-3
3. Christian Rojmar (TTU) def. Leo Dominguez (USAM) 6-4, 6-1
4. Gonzalo Escobar (TTU) vs. Aaron Krisan (USAM) 6-3, 4-3, unfinished
5. Michael Breler (TTU) def. Hanno Bartsch (USAM) 6-2, 6-1
6. David Gonzalez (TTU) def. Dauw Kruger (USAM) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles competition
Match Notes:
University of South Alabama 6-6
Texas Tech 6-3; National ranking #35
--USA--
