MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's tennis team will play four matches over a four-day period, starting Thursday with a doubleheader at the Mobile Tennis Center.

The Jaguars will take on Jacksonville State and Jackson State Thursday at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively, then face Southeastern Louisiana Friday on campus at the Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts at 11 a.m., before traveling to Mississippi State on Sunday for an 11 a.m. start.

"We have four opportunities to get better early in the season, and want to get a lot of matches in to see what we need to work on. This is a great weekend to do so," USA head coach Jaco Keyser said.

South Alabama brings a five-match win streak into the weekend after a road sweep of Samford and UAB. The Jags blanked Samford 7-0 and defeated UAB 6-1 behind an undefeated record from the top four spots in the singles lineup, including a win over a top-100 opponent by sophomore Alexandria Stiteler (Bradenton, Fla.).

"It's good for her to get a quality win like that," Keyser said of Stiteler. "It's pretty simple – she's been practicing pretty hard and at a good level, and it's good to see her getting rewarded for it."

Stiteler is 4-1 at the top flight this spring, but senior Laura Matuskova (Bratislava, Slovakia) and sophomore Alina Zolotareva (Barnaul, Russia) are both 5-0 and have win streaks of six dating back to the fall.

Jacksonville State is currently 3-3 coming off a 1-2 weekend at the Alabama State Invitational. Jackson State is 2-5, with the lone win coming at Alabama-Huntsville, and Southeastern Louisiana is 2-0 in the early stages of the 2017 campaign.

Mississippi State is ranked No. 24 in the most recent ITA poll and will be 3-1 prior to Sunday's match. The Bulldogs are listed in both the national singles and doubles rankings, with Jasmine Lee at No. 44 in singles, and Lee and Lisa Maria Rioux at No. 8 in doubles.

USA leads the series with MSU 18-9, but the two schools haven't faced each other since 2009. The Jags have won nine of the last 11 meetings, including all four against a ranked Bulldog team.

"It's just one of 25 matches this year but it's a win-win situation," Keyser stated. "It's an opportunity to play on a national scale, and at the same time, in the long term, it's going to make us better to play top-notch competition."

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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