MOBILE, Ala. – The No. 2 seed University of South Alabama men's tennis team will play No. 7 seed Appalachian State as its quarterfinals opponent in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at the City Park/Pepsi Tennis Center.
 
"This year's tournament is strong," said South Alabama head coach Nick Brochu. "Not only we have two teams top 50 in the nation, but many teams have split matches this season. It will be very competitive."
 
The Jaguars, ranked No. 47 in the last ITA team rankings, go into the conference tournament with a 21-5 record. The 21 victories are the most since the 2003 squad finished the year 21-8. With three wins to secure the tournament title, South Alabama will tie for the second-most wins in program history for a single season with the NCAA tournament also providing more opportunities for wins.
 
South Alabama closed out the regular season with a four-match winning streak. South Alabama won three times in Middle Tennessee three weekends ago, defeating the host Blue Raiders 4-0, UAB 4-3 and Valparaiso 4-2. The Jags swept conference and intrastate foe Troy 4-0 in the final match of the season.
 
Several Jags enter the conference tournament without a singles loss in the last few matches. Freshman Loic Cloes (Remicourt, Belgium) has won six-straight matches and 14 of the past 15 matches. Sophomore Lucas Gonzalez (Chateauroux, France) has notched four-straight wins at courts No. 5 or No. 6. Senior Pierre Noyon (Oye-Plage, France) has post wins in nine of his past 11 matches.
 
Appalachian State went 12-8 this spring and dropped its only match against a Sun Belt opponent, falling 4-1 to Georgia Southern on April 2nd. The Mountaineers won nine of their last 12 matches. Junior Scott Webster has played each match on the No. 1 court with a 14-4 record.
 
The Jags has won the only two meetings against the Mountaineers, with both coming in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. South Alabama defeated Appalachian State 4-1 two seasons ago in the quarterfinals and won 4-1 last season in the semifinals.
 
"We have de a good week of practice and the guys are really excited to play," said Brochu. "The key is to not look too far ahead. Even if we beat Appalachian State the previous two tournaments, we need to be ready for this match. Appalachian State always has a lot of energy. We need to have a big start and get that precious doubles point to take the momentum."
 
With a win on Friday, South Alabama would face the winner of No. 3 Texas-Arlington and No. 6 Georgia Southern on Saturday at 3 p.m. shown on ESPN3.
 
"Overall, every player on the team has a job to do and all of them want to be the clincher," said Brochu. "We are ready for a competitive weekend."
 
In the other side of the bracket, No. 1 Georgia State faces No. 8 Lousiana-Lafayette and No. 4 Troy takes on No. 5 Coastal Carolina. The winner of the tournament earns a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Join the Baseline Club, the tennis-specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All donations to the Baseline Club go directly to support the South Alabama men's and women's tennis programs. For more information on how you can join visit:  jaguarathleticfund.com/baselineclub
 
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).