MOBILE, Ala. – Spring Break brings the University of South Alabama men's tennis team in Florida with matches against Stetson and South Florida.

The Jaguars will face the Hatters Wednesday at 1 p.m. in DeLand and the Bulls Friday at 1 p.m. in Tampa.

South Alabama enters the week with a 9-4 mark in their spring campaign. The Jags advanced to the finals of the H-E-B Tournament of Champions last weekend, after defeating Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (4-0) and No. 67 Louisiana-Lafayette (4-2). USA fell 4-1 to Tulane in the championship match.

"We are coming off a very good weekend in Corpus Christi," said USA head coach Nick Brochu. "We hope we can carry over our level of play and energy."

Strong singles play has been the drive behind South Alabama's recent winning ways, having won five out of its last six matches. The team is 19-12 in singles over that span, with 13 of the wins coming from the top three spots. In the spring, USA is 46-27 in singles for a .630 win percentage.

Stetson enters Wednesday's clash with a 3-3 record, after downing Niagara 6-1 on Monday. Graham Ball leads the Hatters with a 5-0 mark this spring. SU is 2-0 against USA, and the two teams haven't met since 2009 when Stetson won 4-3.

"Stetson's team is very similar from top to bottom," said Brochu. "Every position will be a battle. We need to be aggressive and solid."

South Florida opened the season ranked No. 70 and has climbed to No. 45 since then. The Bulls are 5-3 overall and own a 3-0 mark in home matches. USF has defeated two ranked teams this spring: No. 54 Texas Tech and No. 60 Miami.

Bulls' 81st-ranked Roberto Cid leads the team with an 8-0 record this season and won American Athletic Conference Player of the Week two weeks in a row.  

Friday marks the 16th meeting between South Alabama and South Florida. USA leads the all-time series 8-7. USF won 4-3 when the two teams met last March.

"South Florida is one of the most improved teams in the country," said Brochu. "They are now back in the top 50 in the nation and they are looking very solid. They beat us last year and I expect another great battle this year. We have improved our doubles a lot and this week will be a good test for our three pairs."

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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