MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men’s tennis team will host Southern Miss Sunday at 10 a.m. at the Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts.
The Jaguars enter the match with an overall record of 4-2 after splitting their matches against No. 53 New Mexico State and No. 59 New Mexico last weekend.
South Alabama’s victory over NMSU was their first win against a ranked opponent since 2009 and continued its winning streak to four matches.
“Our win against New Mexico State was a very good boost of confidence,” said USA head coach Nick Brochu. “Now the guys know they can beat teams that have a national ranking. We always knew we had the potential, but to actually do it is different.”
USA then traveled to Albuquerque, N.M. to take on New Mexico and fell 6-1, ending the streak.
“We played New Mexico in a completely different environment,” said Brochu. “The altitude was 5,000 feet and in an indoor bubble the ball travels extremely fast. It took some of our guys too long to adapt and by the time they got used to the environment they were trailing too much to catch up. It was a good experience and good competition. Now I think everyone is playing at a higher level and it’s going to help us for the rest of the season.”
The Jaguars leads the all-time series with the Golden Eagles 11-1. The two teams faced off last year when South Alabama downed Southern Miss 7-0 at home.
“Southern Miss has been improving a lot and rebuilding their program over the last few years,” said Brochu. “We saw them in the fall at some tournaments and they have some really good players. We’re going to have to be careful because they have much more depth than last year.”
USM enters the match with a 4-2 overall record. Matt Frost leads the Golden Eagles at the No. 1 spot with a 3-2 record in singles. Paulo Alvarado follows at the No. 2 spot with a 2-2 record. Alvarado defeated senior Dauw Kruger (Pretoria, South Africa) 6-3, 6-2 at the Southern Miss Fall Invitational in Sept.
“It’s going to be a battle throughout the entire lineup,” said Brochu. “This year on paper we are the favorites against Southern Miss so the pressure is on us. We really have to play aggressive and make sure we don’t give them a chance.”
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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