MOBILE, Ala. - South Alabama overcame an early doubles deficit to knock off Georgia Southern, 4-1, in Sun Belt women's tennis action on Sunday in Mobile.

The Jaguars (14-3, 4-2 SBC) remained unbeaten at home with the victory, improving to 9-0 in Mobile this year, while the Eagles (13-4, 4-2 SBC) saw its four match win streak come to a close. Georgia Southern returns to action on Friday, traveling to ULM to take on the Warhawks at 11 AM on Friday, April 7.

Georgia Southern took a 1-0 lead in the match thanks to getting doubles wins at the top two spots. Liv Ryan and Silvia Martinez defeated Tereza Dejnozkova and Luminita Tutunaru, 7-5, at No. 1 doubles, while Sonja Keranen and Ana Tsitavets downed Elysia Pool and Nikola Novotna, 6-2, at No. 2 doubles.

South Alabama took five of six first sets in singles, then took a 3-1 lead thanks to straight set wins at No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5 singles. The Eagles pushed the three remaining matches to third sets and had leads in all three of the final sets, but Delien Kleinhans clinched the victory for the Jaguars with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 win over Ninon Martinache at No. 5 singles. Tsitavets and Lindsay Tulenko had leads in their third sets when the match was halted.

"Today was an amazing college tennis match," Georgia Southern Head Women's Tennis Coach Sean McCaffrey said. "We were truly five minutes away from taking the match and South Alabama simply stepped up and played with a bunch of mental toughness. There is no doubt in my mind that if we are to play this team again, the result will be a little different.

"We had a number of opportunities that - if we had gone after things with a little more situational awareness - I believe the result would have gone our way. I'm not a fan of moral victories, however. I believe in this team, and knowing we were inches away from pulling off a very competitive match, while on the road at one of the best programs in the conference, I am okay with todays hard-earned lesson. We will be better for it and our best days are still ahead of us."

"I feel that Ana and Sonja played exceptional doubles after not having the best day on Saturday," Coach McCaffrey said. "And Liv and Silvia are proving that they truly could be the strongest doubles team in the Sun Belt. Being down 0-4, 0-30 and coming back to take the match and earn the doubles point showed why Georgia Southern Women's Tennis has earned the "relentless" title for these ladies. In singles, Ninon battled hard after losing her first set. She had some chances and I believe she will no doubt capitalize on those opportunities in the future. Ana was playing inspired tennis. She, too, was close to earning the match in straight sets, however her opponent stepped up and really made things hard for her. I feel confident that both Ana and Lindsay would have pulled out their matches in three sets."

"There are still a lot of matches left in the conference regular season. And I believe in this squad and what we are doing. They care so much about the team and each other. We look forward to our next practice and our upcoming matches, and I'm certain our best effort will be on display for those occasions

Results
Singles
Luminita Tutunaru (USA) def. Silvia Martinez (GS) 6-0, 6-1
Ana Tsitavets (GS) led Nikola Novotna (USA) 7-5, 5-7, 3-1, unfinished
Elysia Pool (USA) def. Nanaka Kijima (GS) 6-0, 6-2
Lindsay Tulenko (GS) led Tereza Dejnozkova (USA) 6-7 (5), 6-1, 5-4, unfinished
Delien Kleinhans (USA) def. Ninon Martinache (GS) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
Chems Doha Zeghlouli (USA) def. Paula Hijos (GS) 6-4, 7-5

Doubles
Liv Ryan/Silvia Martinez (GS) def. Tereza Dejnozkova/Luminita Tutunaru (USA) 7-5
Sonja Keranen/Ana Tsitavets (GS) def. Elysia Pool/Nikola Novotna (USA) 6-2
Otoha Aoki/Chems Doha Zeghlouli (USA) def. Lindsay Tulenko/Ninon Martinache (GS) 6-2