JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville State men's tennis suffered a heartbreaking loss in Monday's ASUN Conference home opener at the JSU Tennis Courts. The Gamecocks lost 4-3 to visiting North Alabama who clinched the match with a three-set triumph in the final flight.
 
Freshman Xavier Sarda Marti jumped ahead early in the no. 1 singles flight before North Alabama's Lachlan Brain responded to force a decisive third set. UNA's Australian eked out a slim win, taking down the Spaniard 6-7 (0-7), 7-5, 6-4.
 
"It was a heck of a college tennis match," associate head coach Trey Morris said afterwards. "It had everything that you'd want in a good match."
 
UNA (5-6, 1-1) took a very competitive doubles point over Jax State (9-7, 1-1). After the visitors from Florence picked up a 6-4 win on court one, a comeback attempt in the no. 2 doubles flight by Konstantin Benneman and Alin Fatu fell just short. The Lions earned a 7-6 (9-7) triumph to claim the match's opening point.
 
"We didn't start the way we'd like in doubles," Morris said. "We went down two breaks in each doubles match. I've got to give credit to our guys because they just put their heads down and kept competing. The reality is we gave ourselves chances to win that doubles point. We had match point on court three when the match was clinched and had three match points in the tiebreaker in no. 2 doubles.
 
"There were chances," Morris added. "That was kind of the story of today. There were chances and unfortunately we weren't able to walk through the open door. However, this is a tough, young group, and they've shown their ability to compete on a consistent basis. They'll have tomorrow off, but we expect them to come back as hungry and gritty as ever on Wednesday and prepare for the next conference match on Friday."
 
Vanja Dobrnjac cruised to a 6-0, 6-1, victory on court three to open singles play before North Alabama rallied with wins of their own in the no. 5 and no. 6 singles flights. Matei Palcau (6-4, 7-5) picked up a two-set result to draw the Gamecocks within one and Lucius Soller (7-6 [7-2], 7-5) tied it with another victory for the Red-and-White, setting up the winner-take-all showdown.
 
"It's a long season and we know that," Morris said. "We're disappointed on the result today as coaches, as players, and as a team, but we know there's a lot more tennis to play."
 
Jax State resumes a challenging ASUN Conference slate with a pair of road matches this weekend. The Gamecocks will travel to Charlotte, N.C., on Friday for a league test at Queens before heading to perennial power Liberty on Sunday afternoon. Links to follow along with live stats for either of those matches will be provided at JSUGamecockSports.com.
 
To stay up-to-date with the Gamecocks, follow their Twitter (@JaxStateTN), Instagram (@JaxStateMTennis), and Facebook (Jacksonville State University Tennis) accounts. 
 
Tennis Match Results
JSU vs UNA
3/20/2023 at Jacksonville, Ala.
JSU 4, UNA 3
 
Singles Competition
 

1. Lachlan Brain (UNA) def. Xavier Sarda Marti (JSU) 6-7 (0-7), 7-5, 6-4
2. Matei Palcau (JSU) def. Carlos Matarredona (UNA) 6-4, 7-5
3. Vanja Dorbnjac (JSU) def. Nazar Fedoryshyn (UNA) 6-0, 6-1
4. Lucius Soller (JSU) def. Guilherme Diniz (UNA) 7-6 (7-2), 7-5
5. Chris Zhang (UNA) def. Alejandro Beneyto Sanchez (JSU) 6-3, 6-3
6. Fedrricos Scotuzzi (UNA) def. Vicente Arbelaez (JSU) 6-1, 6-3

Doubles Competition
 

1. Nazar Fedoryshyn/Carlos Matarredona (UNA) def. Vanja Dobrnjac/Lucius Soller (JSU) 6-4
2. Guilherme Diniz/Lachlan Brain (UNA) def. Konstantin Benneman/Alin Fatu (JSU) 7-6 (9-7)
3. Logan Haga/Xavier Sarda Marti (JSU) vs. Fedrricos Scotuzzi/Chris Zhang (UNA) 6-6 (6-5), unfinished