MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's tennis team will close out the fall portion of its schedule this weekend when four Jags compete at the CCB Collegiate Invitational hosted by Alabama and held at the Country Club of Birmingham. The three-day event is set to get underway Friday morning with two rounds of doubles action and a round of singles play.

MATCH INFORMATION
Tournament Name: Country Club of Birmingham (CCB) Collegiate Invitational
Host: Country Club of Birmingham
Dates: 11/1-3
Place: Country Club of Birmingham Tennis Courts (Birmingham, Ala.)

ON THE COURT FOR THE JAGUARS
- Ezra Blissard (Sr., Van Vleet, Miss., 0-6 Singles, 1-3 Doubles)
- Sébastien Collard (Fr, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, 7-3 Singles, 5-5 Doubles)
- Louis Delcour (So., Lille, France, 7-4 Singles, 3-5 Doubles)
- Leon Pet'ko (Fr., Bratislava, Slovakia, 2-4 Singles, 4-3 Doubles)

NOTES
- The event, hosted by Alabama, features players from 11 programs – Ole Miss, Tulane, East Tennessee State, Lipscomb, Louisiana, Middle Tennessee, Samford, UAB, Belmont and South Alabama.
- The tournament will use a Compass Format with three singles draws of 16 players and three doubles draws of eight teams. Each player is guaranteed four singles and three doubles matches.
- The tournament at the Country Club of Birmingham marks the lone tournament this fall played on a clay surface for the Jags.
- South Alabama has competed at the event each fall dating back to 2016.
- Last fall, Santiago di Loreto claimed the Houndstooth Singles Draw title, while Samuel Serrano and Maxime Lapraille teamed up to win the White Doubles Draw.
- Delcour is coming off an impressive showing at the ITA Southern Regionals as the sophomore advanced through the singles qualifying round and into the Main Draw's quarterfinals. Delcour won four of his five singles matches and split his two doubles matches.
- This weekend marks the first time that any of the four Jaguars competing have participated in the event.

CCB COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE OF PLAY
Friday
Two rounds of Doubles – One round of Singles

Saturday
Two rounds of Singles

Sunday
One round of Doubles (Doubles Finals) – One round of Singles (Singles Finals)

UP NEXT
- South Alabama will prepare for the spring season. The 2020 spring schedule will be released at a later date.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Nick Brochu
- On the challenges and goals of this tournament: "We're taking four players this weekend and this is our last tournament of the fall. It's also on clay, so we are looking forward to the opportunity to play on that surface and test how patient they are. With the matches played on a clay surface, all the points are going to be played a little longer, matches will be longer and tougher with more rallies, so you definitely have to be more patient and fight a little bit harder. We're going to have to stay relaxed and work the point. We're going to have to be smart on when to go to the net; you don't want to be too aggressive or too early. It's going to be interesting to see how the guys adapt to this.
"We're taking some of our younger players, because they need to get a lot of match play. So far, we've been pleased with the results this fall, but we're looking forward to getting the opportunity to get some more significant wins this weekend. The four players are going to be spread out through three different draws and will be facing different levels of competition, so everyone will have an opportunity to come up with a big win. In doubles, we've been trying out different pairs throughout the fall in order to test the chemistry and figure out who we are going to play together during the spring. This tournament is a great event over a three-day span. I'm looking forward to seeing our players compete hard."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Baseline Club, the tennis-specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All donations to the Baseline Club go directly to support the South Alabama men's and women's tennis programs. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/baselineclub

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