MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women’s tennis team will travel to Lake Charles, La. to take on McNeese State on Saturday and Beaumont, Texas to face Lamar on Sunday.

USA will play at 11 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

“We have a great opportunity to build on some momentum we have gained in the last couple of weeks,” said USA head coach Jaco Keyser.

The Jaguars enter the weekend with a 9-4 overall record and a five-match win streak after picking up a 6-1 victory over Jacksonville State on Wednesday.

Freshman Mary Angela Martin (Mobile, Ala.) secured the match for South Alabama with a straight-set win over Danielle Kerindi, improving her spring record to 11-0.  Sophomore Emily Newton (Dothan, Ala.) also extended her winning streak to 11 when she blanked Zoe Bizinos 6-0, 6-0.

“Playing-wise I think we are turning the corner and starting to play some good quality tennis,” said Keyser.

USA fell 5-2 to McNeese State last spring, which tied the all-time series at 1-1.

MSU enters Saturday’s match with a 1-8 record and has lost three straight. During the UL Invitational in the fall, Mariya Krachok (Kiev, Ukraine) defeated Anastasio Surkova of McNeese State 6-0, 6-1.

Sunday will mark the tenth meeting with the Cardinals and USA holds an 8-1 advantage in the series. South Alabama fell 7-0 to Lamar at home last spring.

Carolina Salas leads Lamar at No. 1 with a 5-3 record in the spring. Salas defeated freshman Ramona Ghermani (Bad Wimpfen, Germany) 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) at the UL Invitational.

“The question we have to answer this weekend is ‘Are we willing to out-tough, out-hustle and out-compete teams on a daily basis?’,” said Keyser. “If the answer is yes then I feel really confident about this club for the rest of the season and the future.”

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).

—USA—