MOBILE, Ala. – Halfway through their fall season, the University of South Alabama women's tennis team will head to Birmingham, Ala. for the Samford Fall Invitational Friday.

The event will take place Oct. 4-6 at the Samford Tennis Center. Teams participating in this weekend's tournament are Samford, Middle Tennessee and UAB.

"This is a very important weekend for us," said USA head coach Jaco Keyser. "As a team we are still in the progress of forging our identity and establishing a culture of competitiveness on a daily basis."

South Alabama will send all nine players on the roster. This weekend will be a chance for freshman Silvia Martinkova (Trencin, Slovakia), sophomore Cinta Maria Papke (Flein, Germany) and junior Emily Newton (Dothan, Ala.) to test their skills for the first time this season.

"Individually, there will be great opportunities this weekend for the girls to validate some of the work they have done and establish a pecking order within the team," said Keyser. "This is a very talented club that is showing signs of hard work, toughness and being coachable. This weekend is definitely a great opportunity to take steps forward in becoming a team that matches our talent level."

Sophomore Michaela Meszarosova (Bratislava, Slovakia) won the Flight Four singles title Sept. 22 at the UNLV Women's Tennis Fall Invitational. Meszarosova and freshman Laura Valkova (Piestany, Slovakia) advanced to the doubles Flight One final, but fell to Keseniya Bardabush and Franziska Sprinkmeyer of North Texas.

Samford opened its fall season at the College of Charleston Invitational Sept. 20. Yasmeen Ebada, Carita Moolman, Jessica Northcutt and AnnMarie Lyon all went undefeated in singles on day one and the team went 7-5 overall on the weekend.

Middle Tennessee also competed in the UNLV Fall Invitational and claimed three titles. Nayara Moraes won the Flight Five singles title, while Flavia Nagayama claimed the title in Flight Six. Sarah Sedini and Tiffany William won the doubles No. 2 draw championship.

UAB participated in the Steve Baras Fall Classic last weekend and newcomer Catherine Ragon won the championship of the No. 5 draw with a 3-0 record. Elaine Simon and Rachel Daniell also won their respective doubles draw.

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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