MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's tennis team will take on Texas State and Nicholls State this weekend when it plays host to the Jaguar Classic at the Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts.
USA will face Texas State at 1 p.m. on Friday and Nicholls State at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
"I feel good. Last weekend was important to get a couple of wins and get those confidence levels up a little bit," USA head coach Jaco Keyser said. "This weekend will be two tough matches and I'm looking forward to getting better and becoming match tough."
The Jaguars are coming off a pair of 7-0 sweeps against Jackson State and Jacksonville State, improving their overall season record to 3-3.
"It's human nature: if you win, you feel good about yourself. Our practices are always intense, but when you have that winning feeling, it makes everything easier and smoother," Keyser said.
South Alabama defeated Texas State 4-1 last year in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament, and the Bobcats are coming into this weekend having lost to McNeese State, 6-1, on Jan. 23 in their only match of the spring. Junior Pippa Carr and senior Katy Collins fill the No. 1 and No. 2 spots for Texas State, while leading a young team with five out of eight members freshmen.
"Every single conference match is important, especially with our conference because everyone is bunched up quite a bit," commented Keyser. "We know Texas State; we played them twice last year and both times it was a tough match. Hopefully we're ready to go.
In the fall, USA participated in the Warhawk Fall Tennis Tournament alongside Nicholls State. Junior Laura Matuskova (Bratislava, Slovakia) and senior Michaela Meszarosova (Bratislavia, Slovaka) were edged 6-3 by a Nicholls State team in the first round. Fairhope, Ala., native Monica Mitta won over Nicholls State's Milou Pietersz 6-4, 6-0 in the consolation quarterfinals.
The Colonels fell to 1-3 last weekend after dropping a 5-2 decision at Tulane before suffering a 4-3 home loss to ULM.
"Any win is big for us, but if we could beat Nicholls State it would be a great, quality win," Keyser commented. "They're a good team, they're at the top of their conference each year."
Alexandria Stiteler (Bradenton, Fla.) and Laura Valkova (Piestany, Slovakia) have each won three matches this spring for the Jags at the Nos. 1 and 2 positions, while Matuskova and Meszarosova have picked up three singles victories apiece as well. Last weekend Alina Zolotareva (Barnaul, Russia) won twice at No. 2 in her first-ever matches at the collegiate level.
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).
—USA—
