DENTON, Texas - Despite dropping the doubles point, No. 4 seed South Alabama rallied in singles play to upset No. 1 seed Denver, 4-3, in the men's semifinals of the 2012 Sun Belt Conference Men's Tennis Championship on Saturday, April 21 at the Waranch Tennis Complex on the campus of the University of North Texas.
No. 57 South Alabama (17-6) advances to the championship match for the second consecutive season and will have a rematch with No. 2 seed Middle Tennessee (18-7). Denver falls to 12-9 and awaits a possible at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
Denver got off to a good start by claiming the doubles point. Fabio Biasion (Velbert, Germany) and Max Krammer (Perchtoldsdorf, Austria) took the first win by defeating Christian Kuehne and Hanno Bartsch 8-5 on court two. Two all-conference pairs battled it out at the No. 1 position as Romain Bocaert and Alexandre Bernard kept USA within reach with an 8-5 win over Enej Bonin (Koper, Slovenia) and Jens Vorkefeld (Ostercappeln, Germany).
Yannick Weihs (Guntramsdorf, Austria) and Luke Manley (Edmonton, Alberta) took an early lead they never relinquished, defeating Daniel Leitner and Cody Hall 8-5 on court three and secure the doubles point for DU.
Daniel Leitner evened the score at 1-1 with a 6-3, 6-4 victory on court three over Vorkefeld before Krammer gave DU the lead back with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Cody Hall. Weihs extended the Pioneers' lead to 3-1 after taking down Bernard on court two, 6-4, 6-4.
Dauw Kruger's 6-4, 6-4 win at the No. 5 position followed by Bocaert's 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory on court one evened the score once again at 3-3.
The match came down to the third set at the No. 6 position where Denver's Manley and USA's Bartsch split the first two sets. With the match on the line, Bartsch was able to hold on to clinch the win for the Jaguars with a 6-3, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (4) victory.
Sun Belt Conference Men's Tennis Championship
South Alabama vs. Denver Pioneers
April 21, 2012 at Denton, Texas
Waranch Tennis Complex
#57 South Alabama 4, #48 Denver Pioneers 3
Singles
1. Bocaert, Romain (USA) def. Enej Bonin (DEN-M) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
2. Yannick Weihs (DEN-M) def. Bernard, Alex (USA) 6-4, 6-4
3. Leitner, Daniel (USA) def. Jens Vorkefeld (DEN-M) 6-3, 6-4
4. Max Krammer (DEN-M) def. Hall, Cody (USA) 6-4, 6-2
5. Kruger, Dauw (USA) def. Fabio Biasion (DEN-M) 6-4, 6-4
6. Bartsch, Hanno (USA) def. Luke Manley (DEN-M) 6-3, 6-7, 7-6
Doubles
1. Bocaert, Romain/Bernard, Alex (USA) def. Enej Bonin/Jens Vorkefeld (DEN-M) 8-5
2. Fabio Biasion/Max Krammer (DEN-M) def. Kuehne, Christian/Bartsch, Hanno (USA) 8-5
3. Yannick Weihs/Luke Manley (DEN-M) def. Leitner, Daniel/Hall, Cody (USA) 8-5
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