MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men’s tennis team heads to Murfreesboro, Tenn. to face off with Florida Atlantic in the opening round of the Sun Belt Shootout at the Buck Bouldin Tennis Center this Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

“This is the last stretch of the regular season,” USA head coach Nick Brochu. “The SBC shootout is very important because all the teams from the conference will be there. It's like a mini conference tournament two weeks early. It will allow us to see where we stand and take a good look at the other teams.”

The Jags lead the all-time series with the Owls 2-1. FAU picked up their first win of the series with their 4-3 win over South Alabama in Boca Raton, Fla. last season.

The seventh-seeded USA (5-5) enters the shootout after a dominating 6-1 home win over Missouri-St. Louis on March 29.

Jaguar junior Dauw Kruger (Pretoria, South Africa) leads South Alabama with a 6-4 mark in his spring campaign and a 15-8 overall singles record. Kruger is undefeated at No. 3 and No. 5 singles. The Jags’ No. 1 Romain Bocaert (Lille, France) is 10-6 overall and 5-4 in dual matches so far this season.

Kruger also leads the Jaguars in doubles action. He is undefeated at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles when paired up with junior Hanno Bartsch (Pretoria, South Africa).

Florida Atlantic, the No. 2 seed, has a 7-7 record this spring. The Owls are coming off a 4-3 win over Maryland-Baltimore County.

FAU’s top performer is Marc Abdelnour who is 20-6 overall and 11-3 in the spring. Abdelnour teams up with Ervin Garibovic to form the Owls’ top doubles tandem. The duo is 12-7 overall and 9-4 in dual matches.

There is no cost for admission to the Sun Belt Shootout which will begin at 9 a.m. and run through 6 p.m. Saturday night. The tournament will conclude on Sunday with action beginning at 9 a.m.

Following this match USA will play either No. 3 seed Denver or No. 6 seed Louisiana at Lafayette at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Results will be posted on goblueraiders.com when they become available.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251)461-1USA(1872).

-USA-