MOBILE, Ala. – Thanks to an 18-2 regular-season record, the University of South Alabama women's tennis enters the 2015 Sun Belt Championships in New Orleans, La. with the No. 1 seed and will take on either Texas State or Louisiana-Lafayette in the quarterfinals Friday at 8 a.m. at the City Park/Pepsi Tennis Center.

Ten programs will be vying for the SBC title and the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament starting Thursday morning.

"I feel good about where we're at," USA head coach Jaco Keyser said. "We played such a long, good, full schedule, and I liked the end of the season where the competition stiffened up a little bit, so I think we're match ready and in a good position for the tournament."

The Jaguars are the top seed for the first time since 2005, when they fell in the finals before advancing to the round of 32 at the NCAA Tournament, and are seeking their first conference crown since 2003.

"I think it's a great thing," Keyser said of attaining the top seed. "One of our goals is to get the No. 1 seed and I think it validates a very good regular season. It should give us a lot of confidence that we've played and beaten a lot of the teams in the conference."

South Alabama went 6-0 against Sun Belt schools this season and dropped just two points total, winning four via shutout. The Jags blanked both potential quarterfinal opponents on the road, defeating Texas State 6-0 and UL Lafayette 7-0.

"It's great that we got a win over a lot of the teams, but we're so bunched up in the conference that there are about six or seven teams that can legitimately win this. It just depends on who is going to play the better tennis this weekend."

The bottom of the Jaguar lineup is bolstered by senior Mary Angela Martin (Mobile, Ala.) and sophomore Laura Matuskova (Bratislava, Slovakia), who share the team lead with 16 wins—against a combined three losses—this spring. The duo each put together double-digit win streaks in singles, and Martin is 9-1 at No. 2 doubles with junior Michaela Meszarosova (Bratislava, Slovakia).

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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