FLORENCE, Ala. – The Jacksonville State men's tennis team downed longtime rival North Alabama 5-2 on the road Wednesday.
 
The Gamecocks (7-1) picked up the victory over the Lions (1-9) by claiming the doubles point and four singles points.
 
UNA won the first set of doubles play with a 6-3 win at No. 1, but JSU rallied to win at No. 2 and No. 3 to go ahead 1-0. Thomas Norwood and Aljaz Kaplja won 6-2 over George Markos and Gustavo Girao to even things up, and Joaquin Vallejo and Sergio Lizarraga claimed the point in an exciting finish at No. 2. The duo won 7-6 (7-5) in extras over Yannick Pfleiderer and Cade Reasons.
 
Norwood extended the lead to 2-0 with a two-set win over Gustavo Giaro (6-0, 6-2) at No. 3, and Lizarraga won 6-1, 6-2 over Reasons at No. 5 to make it a 3-0 match.
 
Tim Heslin kept UNA alive with a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 6 over Alex Vishneviskiy, but Vallejo secured the victory for the Gamecocks with a 7-6, 6-0 win over Pfleiderer at No. 2.
 
Dmitrii Vasilev added the fifth point with a win at No. 4, and the Lions' Cain Maguire salvaged a point with a three-set win over Guillermo Agost at No. 1.
 
The Gamecocks return home on Thursday, Feb. 27 for the first time in seven matches to host Alabama State. The match is set for 1:30 p.m. at the JSU Tennis Courts.
 
For more information on the JSU tennis teams, follow the Gamecocks on Twitter (@JSUGamecocksTN) and on Facebook (Facebook.com/JSUGamecocksTN). For more on all Gamecocks sports teams, follow the official social media accounts of JSU Athletics on Twitter (@JSUGamecocks), Facebook (Facebook.com/JSUGamecocks) and Instagram (@JSUGamecocks).