MOBILE, Ala. – The No. 74 University of South Alabama men's tennis team will square off against two nationally-ranked opponents this weekend in No. 19 Ole Miss and No. 75 North Florida.

Last weekend, the Jaguars won 7-0 over Samford at home after dropping two matches in Utah, and reappeared in the ITA top 75.

"The intensity right from the beginning was awesome," said USA head coach Nick Brochu. "We played very solid doubles, and in singles, the first three games were a great indication of how the match was going to go. I am very pleased about the way we played at home against Samford, especially coming back from Utah with two losses."

Senior Tim Srkala (Brno, Czech Republic) has won his last two matches to increase his spring record to 9-3. He is 6-3 at No. 1 and 3-0 at No. 2.

On Friday, South Alabama heads to Oxford, Miss. to take on Ole Miss at 3 p.m. at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center. The last time the two teams met was in 2007 when the Rebels defeated the Jaguars 4-1 in Oxford. Ole Miss opened their season with a 4-2 record with wins over No. 26 Texas and No. 34 Baylor. The Rebels are led by the No. 69 player in the nation, Stefan Lindmark.

"Ole Miss is a great program with great history," Brochu said. "They have a great ranking this year, and they've gotten some really good wins. We're going in there, and the guys are excited to face some of the top players in the nation. They're not unbeatable, and we've just got to go there and give everything we have. We have a chance to win, but we've got to make sure that we don't play Ole Miss as six individuals playing six individuals."

The Jaguars return home Sunday to take on North Florida at 11 a.m. The match will mark the eighth time in 11 years the two teams have met. The Ospreys have a 5-2 record against the Jaguars and have not lost in the series since 2007, when the Jags beat the Ospreys 6-1 in Mobile. The No. 116 player in the country, Jack Findel-Hawkins, has led North Florida to a 2-6 record on the year with victories over No. 75 UNC Wilmington and No. 47 Cornell.

"North Florida has been successful over the last three or four years, and we've always had very close battles against them," said Brochu. "This year, we've got to push a little harder to get that win, and that's just the strength of our schedule. You don't get better playing weaker opponents."

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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