Championship Central
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. – The 2019 Sun Belt Conference Men's Tennis Championship trophy is headed back to the Port City as No. 2 South Alabama outlasted No. 1 Georgia State 4-1 on Sunday afternoon at the Peachtree City Tennis Center.
The Jaguars (18-6, 5-1 Sun Belt) captured their second-straight Sun Belt Tournament crown and their league-leading 20th overall. The Panthers (17-10, 6-1), winners of the 2017 title, fell short in their third-straight conference championship final appearance.
It was Georgia State taking the early advantage by winning the doubles point with two 6-3 victories. Juniors Quentin Coulaud and Bailey Showersclinched the point for the Panthers.
South Alabama stormed back into and took control of the match for good in singles. Junior Clement Marzol evened the score at 1-1 with his 7-5, 6-0 victory at No. 3. Just over 10 minutes later, freshman Louis Delcour's 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 6 put the Jaguars in the lead. Senior Sam Serrano followed suit with a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 5 to move South Alabama to within one point away from victory.
That clinching score came from junior Loic Cloes winning his 15th-straight singles match dating back to Feb. 16. After being blanked in the first set and down in the second, Cloes clawed back into his match with a gutsy effort to take the second and third sets by identical 6-4 scores.
Earning the conference’s automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championships, the Jaguars now await their destination and opponent. The NCAA Tournament field is set to be announced on Monday, April 29 with the individual participants unveiled on Tuesday, April 30.
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2019 SUN BELT MEN’S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
Results
Match 7 - No. 2 South Alabama 4, No. 1 Georgia State 1
Doubles
1. Hussey, Giles/MacFarlane, Jack (GSU) def. Cloes, Loic/Marzol, Clement (USA) 6-3
2. Modica, Sacha/Serrano, Sam (USA) def. Grinvalds, Roberts/Duarte, Andrei (GSU) 6-3
3. Coulaud, Quentin/Showers, Bailey (GSU) def. Delcour, Louis/Lapraille, Maxime (USA) 6-3
Singles
1. Hussey, Giles (GSU) vs. Modica, Sacha (USA) 7-5, 3-6, 3-0, unfinished
2. Cloes, Loic (USA) def. Grinvalds, Roberts (GSU) 0-6, 6-4, 6-4
3. Marzol, Clement (USA) def. Coulaud, Quentin (GSU) 7-5, 6-0
4. Showers, Bailey (GSU) vs. Lapraille, Maxime (USA) 6-2, 7-6 (7-1), 2-1, unfinished
5. Serrano, Sam (USA) def. Duarte, Andrei (GSU) 6-4, 6-3
6. Delcour, Louis (USA) def. Huynh, Kevin (GSU) 6-3, 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (3,6,5,2,1,4)
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Monday, April 29
NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship Team Selection Show (NCAA.com), 5 p.m.
Tuesday, April 30
NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship Individual Participants Announcement, 5 p.m.
All Times are Central and Subject to Change