MOBILE, Ala. – Closing out their spring season, the University of South Alabama men’s tennis team heads to Memphis, Tenn. to face UAB and No. 46 Memphis this weekend.

The Jaguars will take on the Blazers Saturday at noon and the Tigers Sunday at noon at the Racquet Club of Memphis.

South Alabama enters the weekend with a 10-11 overall record, after facing seven ranked opponents this season,  with wins over No. 30 BYU, No. 56 St. John’s and No. 60 Georgia State. South Alabama’s most recent win came last Friday against Sun Belt foe Troy.

“The match against Troy was a great one,” said USA head coach Nick Brochu. “That was the second time we had played them in about nine days. The first time we played them we won 4-0, but it was on the road. Friday we came out really flat and lost the doubles point, but overall I thought it was a really good win.”

The 69th-ranked sophomore Daniel Leitner (Niederfischbach, Germany) leads USA with a 20-8 mark overall and an 11-5 record in dual matches at the top two spots. Leitner has defeated four ranked opponents this spring, the most recent being 45th-ranked Cameron Silverman of No. 72 Elon.

Saturday will mark the 29th meeting between UAB and USA. The Jaguars hold a 20-8 advantage over the Blazers in the all-time series. USA has won the last six matches, including a 6-1 victory when the two teams met last April.

The Blazers post a 14-9 record in their spring campaign, including a 7-0 victory over Troy on March 27.  David Zimmerman leads the team with a 17-5 mark at No. 1 and a 14-match win streak. Chris Helliar is 16-5 at Nos. 3 and 4 and has won 10 matches in straight sets.

“UAB is tough,” said Brochu. “They are very talented and they want to beat us. Now, towards the end of the year, everyone is thinking more about their conference tournaments. So hopefully UAB will be doing the same and not thinking so much about this match.”

Memphis enters Sunday’s clash with a 9-7 record in the spring. The Tigers have defeated five opponents ranked in the top 50, including wins over No. 24 VCU and No. 50 Louisville last weekend. Connor Glennon holds a 20-10 mark overall and an 8-6 mark dual matches. Glennon has downed two ranked opponents this season at the No. 1 spot.

UM leads the all-time series with USA 4-3. The two teams faced off last April when the 33rd-ranked Tigers topped the Jaguars 5-2.

“Memphis has been having three really good seasons,” said Brochu. “Right now they are in the top 50 in the nation. Last year we played an excellent match against them, but we weren’t able to come up with the win. They have a lot of firepower and tall guys with big serves. So this week we really have to work on our returns. We’re going into this match without any pressure so we just need the guys to play relaxed. This weekend our goal is to bring up our level for the conference tournament in a week.”

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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