Final Stats

By Hannah Altheide | UTAMavs.com

NEW ORLEANS, La. -- The UT Arlington men's tennis team fell short Saturday in the Sun Belt Conference Championship semifinals to South Alabama 4-1.

Matches have been played in an unusual format all week starting with dual play and going into doubles if needed. UTA prefers to nail down the doubles point quick and head into dual play with momentum. The Mavs quickly found themselves down 3-1 to the Jaguars and had an uphill battle from there.

"We knew going into the match that we would have to put our best foot forward," UTA coach Diego Benitez said. "South Alabama is a very good team with very solid players, and they played a tough match today."

Sebastian Erimicioiu lost to Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and No. 89 Daniel Leitner at the No. 1 slot 6-4, 6-0.  Stefan Williams and Johnathan Gonzalez fought hard, but both lost their dual battles to put the Mavs down 3-0.

Daniel Armengol faced Tim Srkala at the No. 2 slot and gained some momentum back for UTA by winning 7-5, 6-2. The sophomore was 9-6 overall in the regular season.

Down 3-1 it was up to Carlos Arbiza and Mario Muniesa to force the match into doubles play and give the Mavericks a fighting chance at the SBC Championship. Arbiza won his first set 6-2 against Olivier Gingras and went into the second set two with confidence. Muniesa fell to Gruindelingh in the first set 6-1 and, despite his efforts, lost the second 6-3. That gave South Alabama the match.

"Despite the outcome of the match I am proud of what our guys have achieved this season," Benitez said. "Finishing at No. 65 in the nation is great for us, and we could not have done that without their hard work and dedication. We have a bitter taste in our mouths after today's loss that we will keep till next year at this time."

UTA finished with a 12-7 overall record (1-2 SBC, 7-2 home, 2-1 neutral, 3-4 away).