MOBILE, Ala. – The No. 2 seed University of South Alabama men's tennis team will play No. 7 seed Georgia Southern as their quarterfinals opponent in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Friday at 3 p.m. at the City Park Tennis Center.

Going into the tournament, junior Tuki Jacobs (Windhoek, Namibia) has won his last five singles matches - four in straight sets – to help USA earn a 13-11 record this spring. 

"We earned the No. 2 seed because we had some good wins this year, especially against Troy late this season," said USA head coach Nick Brochu. "Now we just need to make sure that we have a strong start and live up to that seed."

Led by senior Rise Lanne, Georgia Southern went 17-7 this spring, with a record of 1-2 against Sun Belt Conference opponents. Lanne went 16-1 in singles at the No. 1 spot this spring, winning 11 in straight sets. 

"They've got great players, and we know they are capable of playing at a high level," said Brochu. 

The Jaguars and the Eagles have not squared off since 2009 when USA topped GSU 4-1 in Mobile. 

"We have not played Georgia Southern in the past few years, so we are going to be focusing on ourselves for the first match," Brochu said. "If we do what we are supposed to do, we should be a strong team."

With a win on Friday, the Jaguars would face the winner of No. 3 Troy and No. 6 Appalachian State Saturday at 3 p.m. 

"This year, we have seven strong teams that can win," Brochu said. "This tournament is wide open for anyone to win, and it's going to come down to who can execute at the right time."

In the finals, the winner of No. 1 Georgia State and either No. 4 Louisiana-Lafayette or No. 5 Texas-Arlington will play the winner of Saturday's match. The winner of the tournament earns a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

"We are ready for this," said Brochu. "We've been far in this tournament before, so it's going to help a lot. We've just got to take care of business and not look past the first round."

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—