Bracket

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men’s tennis team will travel to Denton, Texas for the Sun Belt Conference Men’s Tennis Championships and will match up with No. 5 seed Florida Atlantic in the first round at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

The tournament is hosted by the University of North Texas and is schedule to run Thursday through Sunday.

South Alabama, the No. 4 seed, leads the all-time series with Florida Atlantic 3-2.

The Jaguars moved up three spots in the ITA rankings to No. 56 and enter the tournament with a 15-6 record after splitting weekend matches in Birmingham, Ala. South Alabama defeated No. 65 UAB 6-1, but fell 5-2 to No. 33 Memphis.

“UAB and Memphis were both great teams,” said USA head coach Nick Brochu. “It was very high-level tennis. I think it helped get us ready for the biggest challenge in the conference. This past weekend was very good preparation for the conference tournament.”

At last season’s SBC Championships the third-seeded Jaguars defeated No. 6 seed Troy (4-1) and No. 2 seed FAU (4-2) before falling to the No. 4 seed Middle Tennessee (4-3) in the championship match.

“I know our seniors are expecting a lot from themselves, which is a great thing,” said Brochu. “We have a really bitter taste in our mouth from losing and being two little points away from winning a championship last year.”

USA’s top performers include senior Romain Bocaert (Lille, France), freshman Daniel Leitner (Niederfischbach, Germany) and junior Cody Hall (Albuquerque, N.M.).

Bocaert is 18-12 overall and 11-7 in dual matches at the No. 1 flight. He is one of the two players on this year’s squad to receive an SBC Men’s Tennis Player of the Week nod. Bocaert claimed the title this week after going 2-0 at No. 1 singles.

Leitner, the Jaguars’ other player of the week honoree, is 21-7 overall and 13-3 in his spring campaign. He is undefeated at No. 2 singles and currently holds a nine-match win streak.

After transferring to South Alabama and sitting out for a year, Hall has posted a 20-14 mark overall and went 14-6 in the spring season. Hall has not lost a match at No. 2 and No. 3 singles this spring.

Hall and Leitner are 7-2 in doubles in their spring campaign at the No. 3 spot.

“We expect a lot of energy from these guys,” said Brochu. “Cody and Daniel play doubles together and they bring a lot of energy and they carry it over to singles. We have full confidence in our freshmen and newcomers.”

FAU is 13-8 coming into the tournament. They have not played since the Sun Belt Shootout April 1 where they went 2-1 and picked up the consolation title.

Taylor Albrecht leads the Owls with an 18-1 record in dual matches and posted a 17-1 mark on the No. 1 court.

Albrecht and Will Neuner make up Florida Atlantic’s top doubles team, going 10-6 at the No. 1 flight in their spring campaign.

The winner of Thursday’s match will take on No. 1 Denver Friday at 3 p.m.

“I think our guys are going to give everything they have to give us points on the board,” said Brochu. “This team is determined to go get a title this year.”

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—