MOBILE, Ala. – Kicking off their four-match homestand, the University of South Alabama men's tennis team will host Nicholls State Saturday at 10 a.m. on the Bruce David Memorial Tennis Courts.

USA leads the all-time series with NSU 7-1. The two teams met last January, when the Jaguars downed the Colonels 6-1.

"Nicholls State is talented, but they don't have the schedule that the Division I schools have." said USA head coach Nick Brochu. "They aren't used to playing at a very high level every single day, every single match, but they are capable at playing at a high level. We just have to make sure that we start very strong. If we take the lead, sometimes Nicholls has a tendency of not being able to come back. We just can't start slow or let them take the lead, otherwise it could be a very long day for us."

South Alabama enters the match with a 1-2 record on the season after the Seminole Tournament at Florida State. The Jags lost 4-1 to No. 35 Florida State, then rebounded with a 4-3 victory over No. 70 Central Florida before falling 4-3 to 66th-ranked Louisiana-Lafayette.

"Last weekend some of the guys played very well," said Brochu. "We were a little disappointed because we really thought we had a shot against Florida State. We took the doubles point and had the momentum, but Florida State is a great team. Then we stepped it up in our second match and beat Central Florida. It was a good win. The third match was also a little disappointing, losing 4-3 to Louisiana-Lafayette. It was a good battle."

Newcomer and junior Tim Srkala (Brno, Czech Republic) led the Jaguars with a 2-1 mark on the weekend, and both wins came at the No. 2 spot. He defeated Jose Sangroniz of Central Florida 6-2, 6-3 and Jarred Wynan  of Louisiana-Lafayette 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2).

Freshman Olivier Gingras (Quebec City, Quebec, Canada) earned his first collegiate dual-match win after he topped Arjun Watane of UCF 6-3, 6-3 in the No. 6 flight.

Nicholls State enters the match with an 0-1 overall record, after falling 7-0 to No. 45 LSU on Monday.

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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