CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina men's tennis team scored two doubles wins but fell in five of the six singles bouts to suffer a 5-2 home Sun Belt Conference loss to the No. 74 South Alabama Jaguars on Senior Day Saturday afternoon at the Stevens Tennis Complex in Conway, S.C.
 
With the loss, CCU fell to 10-11 overall and 1-6 in conference play. With the win, USA moved to 14-7 overall and finished league play as the 2023 Sun Belt Conference regular-season co-champions, along with Old Dominion at 7-1.
 
Looking to play spoiler for the Jaguars' championship hopes, the Chanticleers recorded the doubles point with wins on courts No. 1 and 3.
 
The pair of Carlos Berna Ruiz and Ryuya Ata dominated in a 6-1 win over USA's Louis Delcour and Javier Montoya at court No. 3 before the Jaguars' team of Sebastien Collard and Martin Bugaj defeated CCU's duo of Maj Tomac and Guilherme Toresan 6-3 on court No. 2.
 
The home-standing Chants picked up the doubles point with a 6-4 win on court No. 1, as the tandem of Steve Mundt and Lucas Wayenburg held off Jack Clements and Maxime St-Hilaire for the victory.
 
However, in singles action, the Jaguars recorded four consecutive straight-set wins on courts No. 4, 2, 6, and 3 to take a 4-1 lead and secure the match win.
 
CCU's Ata pushed USA's Bugaj to the limit for falling in a tiebreaker on court No. 5 at 7-5, 7-6 (8-6) to extend the Jaguars' lead to 5-1.
 
Coastal's lone win came from the resilient Berna Ruiz on court No. 1, as he battled back from a first-set 6-2 loss to take the second set 6-4 and force a third set.
In the third set, Berna Ruiz and Collard battled back-and-forth until the senior Chanticleer held on for a 7-6 (7-5) tiebreaker win to put the final score at 5-2 in favor of the nationally-ranked Jaguars.
 
The Chanticleers will wrap up the regular-season slate tomorrow versus Troy. The first serve for the home finale is set for 10 a.m. ET.
 
No. 74 South Alabama 5, Coastal Carolina 2
Doubles
1. Lucas Wayenburg/Steve Mundt (CCU) def. Jack Clements/Maxime St-Hilaire (USA) – 6- 4
2. Sebastien Collard/Martin Bugaj (USA) def. Maj Tomac/Guilherme Toresan (CCU) – 6-3
3. Carlos Berna Ruiz/Ryuya Ata (CCU) def. Louis Delcour/Javier Montoya (USA) – 6-1
 
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
 
Singles
1. Carlos Berna Ruiz (CCU) def. Sebastien Collard (USA) – 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
2. Maxime St-Hilaire (USA) def. Maj Tomac (CCU) – 6-2, 6-2
3. Louis Delcour (USA) def. Guilherme Toresan (CCU) – 6-2, 7-5
4. Jack Clements (USA) def. Lucas Wayenburg (CCU) – 6-2, 7-5
5. Martin Bugaj (USA) def. Ryuya Ata (CCU) – 7-5, 7-6 (8-6)
6. Javier Montoya (USA) def. Steve Mundt (CCU) – 6-4, 6-2
 
Order of Finish: 4, 2, 6, 3, 5, 1

For complete coverage of Coastal Carolina Men's Tennis, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalMTennis (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUsports (Instagram), or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.