MOBILE, Ala. – The two-time defending Sun Belt Conference champion University of South Alabama soccer team officially commenced the 2016 campaign with its first workouts Wednesday morning.

The Jaguars, who sit just outside the top 25 in the NSCAA preseason poll in the 'also receiving votes' category, held the first of two training sessions this morning, as well as a fitness test.

"I feel good," USA head coach Graham Winkworth said. "We had our first fitness test this morning and overall, the team is in better shape than they were this time last year, so that's a good place to begin. Now we're looking forward to finally kicking a ball.

"We've had good attitudes so far and they seem very focused. I enjoyed listening to what they wanted to achieve this season and I'm excited to get to work."

The team will try to integrate a large group of newcomers prior to the season, which kicks off Aug. 11 with the first of two home exhibitions.

"I want them to get the first-day jitters out of the way," Winkworth said. "Some of them are very nervous – you can tell – and I told them that preseason is a time to get rid of those jitters. We all know they're good players so I want them to relax and enjoy themselves."

South Alabama returns nine starters and 14 letterwinners from last year's team that went 18-3-2, won both the regular season and tournament titles in the league, and advanced to the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.

Of those 14 returning players, just four are seniors, with 186 career starts combined among those four.

"Leadership from them is crucial," Winkworth said. "The fact that some of them are already speaking up in team meetings that maybe have remained more quiet in the past is very exciting. We're also looking for them to continue to contribute to the success on the field as well as off of it."

"I feel refreshed and ready to go," senior Sarah Hay said. "I'm excited – we have a lot of talent and we're super excited about that. Our fitness scores this morning were awesome so clearly everyone has been working hard this summer."

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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