JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - UNF improved to 4-1 at home with a 4-3 win against a strong South Alabama (10-4) team Saturday, March 16, at the UNF Tennis Complex.

Nilo Duarte and Sahil Deshmukh clinched doubles at the one spot, winning the tiebreak, 7-4. They got out to an early lead before South Alabama cut it to 6-4. USA sent Duarte's serve wide as they earned the clincher.

A grind-it-out singles session lasted nearly three hours. Deshmukh and Dominik Barton won in straight sets as UNF pulled ahead, 3-0. South Alabama crept back into the match with a win at four singles, but Duarte closed it out with a 6-1, 5-7, 7-5 at five singles. South Alabama salvaged two points after it was clinched.

Coach Lucas' Comments
"So pumped for the boys and this big win today. They've really been close for about a month for one of these wins, and just couldn't be happier for them. South Alabama is a great team, Sun Belt champions a season ago, and won a round at the NCAA Tournament. We knew we were close, and have been putting in some high quality practices in the past week. Proud of the way we finished off the doubles point versus a top-ranked team and started fast in singles with six-first sets. We had chances to put the away early, and hopefully the guys who weren't able to close will learn to play more aggressively in those moments. At the end of the day, the game ball goes to Nilo Duarte with the singles and doubles clinch. He's been playing great with five straight wins, and it's been a real boost for us. We will take a few days to recover and then prepare for the ASUN-home opener versus Stetson." -- Head coach Matt Lucas

Notes:

• UNF took the doubles point against both USF and South Alabama this weekend.
• Three hours and 52 minutes is the longest match UNF has had this season. Four singles matches went to three sets and the clincher in doubles went to tiebreak.
• South Alabama fell to No. 45 USF yesterday, a day after USF got the best of UNF, 5-2.

 
Singles Competition
1. Sahil Deshmukh (UNF) def. Clement Marzol (USA) 6-2, 6-3
2. Dominik Barton (UNF) def. Sacha Modica (USA) 6-2, 6-2
3. Loic Cloes (USA) def. Till Von Winning (UNF) 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
4. Sam Serrano (USA) def. Jorge Nunez (UNF) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
5. Nilo Duarte (UNF) def. Max Laparaille (USA) 6-1, 5-7, 7-5
6. Louis Delcour (USA) def. Federico Nani (UNF) 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3)
 
Doubles Competition
1. Sahil Deshmukh/Nilo Duarte (UNF) def. Loic Cloes/Clement Marzol (USA) 7-6 (7-4)
2. Jorge Nunez/Federico Nani (UNF) def. Sacha Modica/Sam Serrano (USA) 6-4
3. Max Laparaille/Louis Delcour (USA) def. Dominik Barton/Till Von Winning (UNF) 6-3

Order of finish: (3,2,1); (1,2,4,5,3,6)
T: 3:52
A: 59
Weather: 65 degrees, N 10 mph
Official: Stuart Blackwell

Up Next:
The Ospreys have a week off before hosting Stetson at 4 p.m. Saturday, March 23.