MOBILE, Ala. – The Alabama State University men’s tennis team traveled to Mobile to face undefeated University of South Alabama. The Hornets played the Jaguars hard before falling 7-0.
“This was a really good South Alabama team we played today,” Head Coach Anuk Christiansz said. “They are an established program and again, these are the types of matches that are making us a better team down the road when conference matches come around.
“I continue to be pleased with the way the guys compete. They played with a lot of excitement and really pulled and fought for each other on the court.”
The Hornets once again took the doubles point down to the wire losing two of the games 7-5 at one and two doubles. In singles play, the Hornets were again competitive as Karlo Skovrc went three sets before losing and Ronald Mataba, Jarred Thompson and Digvijay Naruka played competitive matches.
At two singles Takura Mlambo faced the NCAA’s 71st ranked player in Daniel Leitner and pushed him to the limit in a 6-4 opening game score before falling. Leitner was then able to close out the set with a 6-2 win in the second set.
“As happy as I am with the way we competed we still have a ways to go,” Christiansz said. “We had our chances. We could have easily won the doubles point and we had several chances in singles play to pull out a win. We are still having problems closing out games, but we will keep working at it.
ASU will begin a three-match home stand Friday when they host North Alabama in a double-header match with the women. The matches are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at the Olean Black Underwood Tennis Center.
South Alabama 7, Alabama State 0
Feb 10, 2015 at Mobile, Ala. (Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts)
Singles Competition
1. Srkala, Tim (USA) def. Patrik Cvik (ALST) 6-0, 6-2
2. Leitner, Daniel (USA) def. Takura Mlambo (ALST) 6-4, 6-1
3. Jacobs, Tuki (USA) def. Ronald Mataba (ALST) 7-5, 6-0
4. Gruindelingh, G. (USA) def. Karlo Skovrc (ALST) 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (10-2)
5. Gingras, Olivier (USA) def. Jarred Thompson (ALST) 6-2, 6-3
6. Troglia, Juan (USA) def. Digvijay Singh Naruka (ALST) 6-3, 6-1
Doubles Competition
1. Srkala, Tim/Troglia, Juan (USA) def. Patrik Cvik/Digvijay Singh Naruka (ALST) 7-5
2. Leitner, Daniel/Jacobs, Tuki (USA) def. Takura Mlambo/Karlo Skovrc (ALST) 7-5
3. Gruindelingh, G./Gingras, Olivier (USA) def. Ronald Mataba/Adam Coyne (ALST) 6-2
Match Notes
Alabama State 0-4
South Alabama 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,2,6,5,3,4)
