MOBILE, Ala. – With the regular season behind them, the University of South Alabama women's tennis team will take its 11-match win streak into the Sun Belt Conference Championships starting Friday at the City Park Tennis Courts in New Orleans, La.

The Jaguars, the No. 2 seed, will face either No. 7 seed Georgia Southern or No. 10 seed Appalachian State at 11:30 a.m.

"I feel good about things," USA head coach Jaco Keyser said. "I think we're playing good tennis right now. We've been building towards this all year long and I think we might be peaking at the right time."

South Alabama's current win streak is its longest since opening the 2015 campaign 18-0. The run was extended last weekend with a pair of shutout victories over Middle Tennessee and Troy to give the Jags a 19-4 record heading into the championships.

Sophomores Alexandria Stiteler (Bradenton, Fla.) and Alina Zolotareva (Barnaul, Russia) both currently have team-high six-match win streaks – albeit at opposite ends of the lineup – while Zolotareva leads the team with 15 victories this spring.

Stiteler is 14-5 at the top flight and has won nine of her last 10 outings since a three-match skid in February. Zolotareva is 15-2 in dual matches, playing primarily at No. 6. All 12 victories during their streaks have been in straight sets.

"They're both playing really good tennis right now, but we're going to need everyone to chip in this weekend if we're going to win," Keyser noted.

USA picked up wins against both potential opponents during the regular season in Statesboro, Ga. and leads the all-time series vs. each school 3-0. The Jags defeated Georgia Southern 6-1 on March 25 and Appalachian State 7-0 a day later.

The Eagles enter the tournament with a 10-11 record, but have lost four in a row and nine of their last 10. Their No. 3 doubles pairing of Emilia Bujan and Ella Monsey has an 11-6 record this spring with a four-match win streak, but lost 6-3 to senior Laura Matuskova (Bratislava, Slovakia) and sophomore Alina Zolotareva (Barnaul, Russia) in March.

The Mountaineers are currently 5-18 and have also lost nine of its last 10, with the lone win coming 4-3 over Georgia Southern on April 9 in Mobile. USA won all six singles matches in the earlier meeting in straight sets.

"I think it definitely gives us an edge," Keyser said of defeating both teams earlier in the year. "We've played them and beaten them, but the margins are so small in college tennis, we have to be ready to go, regardless of who we play."

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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