NEW ORLEANS – Back and forth battles in singles play and overpowering doubles play led the No. 1 seed UL Lafayette to a 4-2 win against No. 2 seed University of South Alabama in the finals of the 2014 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Tennis Championship.

UL Lafayette (20-4) redshirt junior Damian Farinola clinched the match with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 WIN at the No. 4 singles position against USA (18-8) sophomore Gerhard Gruindelingh. Gruindelingh fought off three game points before Farinola took game five, and then three match points before Farinola closed it out. Farinola improved his singles record to 12-8 this season.

Sophomore Jake Wynan earned a singles win before Farinola’s match-clinching win, taking the No. 3 singles match with a score of 6-3, 4-6, 6-0. Wynan was the third singles match to finish.

Junior Daniel Leitner started singles play well for USA with a 6-1, 6-1 win against Ragin Cajuns’ sophomore Edgar Lopez at the No. 1 spot. UL Lafayette proceeded to win the next two matches with wins at the No. 3 and No. 6 positions by brothers Jarred and Jake Wynan. This set up Farinola to clinch the title for UL Lafayette. USA took the No. 2 singles match with junior Manuel Belda winning 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. Four out of the six singles matches went to three sets.

The Ragin’ Cajuns overpowered the Jaguars in doubles play with wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles matches to clinch the doubles point. Hunter Johnson, a sophomore, paired with senior Carl Alberton to win an 8-1 match at the No. 3 doubles position. Senior Rick de Groot and Jake Wynan clinched the doubles point with an 8-2 victory at the No. 1 doubles position.

The men’s tennis title is the first for the Ragin’ Cajuns since 2006 and their first under sixth-year head coach Mark Jeffrey. The Sun Belt men’s tennis championship is the fourth in school history for UL Lafayette men’s tennis. The team now awaits its draw in the NCAA Men’s Tennis Selection Show scheduled for April 29th at 5 p.m.

#1 UL Lafayette 4, #2 University of South Alabama 2

Singles competition
1. Daniel Leitner (USA-M) def. Edgar Lopez (ULL-M) 6-1, 6-1
2. Manuel Belda (USA-M) def. Rick de Groot (ULL-M) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
3. Jake Wynan (ULL-M) def. Tuki Jacobs (USA-M) 6-3, 4-6, 6-0
4. Damian Farinola (ULL-M) def. Gerhard Gruindelingh (USA-M) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
5. Hunter Johnson (ULL-M) vs. Shayann Vaezzadeh (USA-M) 6-4, 4-6, 3-1, unfinished
6. Jarred Wynan (ULL-M) def. Juan Troglia (USA-M) 7-6 (9-7), 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Rick de Groot/Jake Wynan (ULL-M) def. Manuel Belda/Juan Troglia (USA-M) 8-2
2. Edgar Lopez/Damian Farinola (ULL-M) vs. Daniel Leitner/Gerhard Gruindelingh (USA-M) 7-4, unfinished
3. Hunter Johnson/Carl Alberton (ULL-M) def. Shayann Vaezzadeh /Tuki Jacobs (USA-M) 8-1

Match Notes:
#1 UL Lafayette (20-4)
#2 University of South Alabama (18-8)
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (1,6,3,2,4)
T-3:21, A-75