MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's tennis team will commence its home slate Saturday and Sunday with three matches at the Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts and the Mobile Tennis Center.

The Jaguars will face Xavier (La.) Saturday at 11 a.m. on campus, and Louisiana-Lafayette and Nicholls State on Sunday at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., respectively, at the tennis center.

"It's good to be back at home," USA head coach Jaco Keyser said. "I thought last weekend was great – a good starting point – and we have three matches this weekend. It will be nice to get the matches in and keep getting better.

"It's always tough (to play three matches in two days), but I like to think that we're a well-conditioned team. When it comes to conference tournament time, you've got to play a lot of matches in a short period of time, so this will be a good test run."

South Alabama dropped its season opener last weekend 4-0 to No. 22 Texas A&M at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend.

"I feel like our practices have been great," Keyser said. "Even though we lost last weekend, I felt like we played good tennis. Mentally we were in the right place and this has carried over to this week. We've had very good practices."

The Jaguars have met Xavier twice – in 2011 and 2012 – winning 9-0 and 6-1, respectively. The Gold Nuggets won their opener 9-0 over Loyola (La.), dropping 11 games total in singles.

South Alabama has dominated the series against UL Lafayette, leading it 32-5, with seven wins in a row. The Jags have defeated the Ragin' Cajuns (1-0) in each of the last three regular seasons, dropping just three points total.

"I think it's good (to play a Sun Belt team now)," Keyser stated. "It's just like last weekend – tough competition early on – and playing them this early brings the added pressure of a conference match. It just gets everyone's attention early and gets their competitive juices flowing. We're looking forward to it."

Sunday will be the season opener for Nicholls State, who had their Jan. 22 match against Alabama State cancelled. The Colonels compiled a 6-18 record last year, including a 7-0 loss to the Jags in Mobile.

Admission to all South Alabama tennis matches is free.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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