MOBILE, Ala. ? The Lady Jags hit the road Saturday to participate in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association kick-off weekend in Gainesville, Fla. at the Ring Tennis Complex. USA is one of 60 teams competing in the event over 15 different host sites. The seventh-ranked Florida Gators will host South Alabama as one of four teams in their tournament on Jan. 31-Feb. 1.
Each site hosts a four-team tournament and the 15 schools that win both of their matches at these events will be invited to play in the Feb. 13-16 ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
“It’s a great honor to be invited to play in the tournament,” head coach Jaco Keyser said. “Only the top 60 teams are included in the match. I’m looking forward to some really strong competition.”
The 56th-ranked Lady Jags are set to take on Western Michigan on Saturday at 2 p.m. The other side of the bracket features host No. 7 Florida (2-0) and No. 69 Oklahoma State (0-0).
South Alabama owns a 1-0 record coming into the weekend. The Lady Jags come with confidence after sweeping UNO 7-0 in the season opener at home. USA hopes to improve on an impressive fall campaign. The No. 56 Jaguars are led by senior Michaela Babicova, an All-Sun Belt Conference selection each of the last two seasons, and senior Sylvanie Spangenberg was 18-3 at No. 1 singles last season.
South Alabama’s first opponent is the 50th-ranked Western Michigan Broncos. The Broncos have won three straight over Eastern Illinois, Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Youngstown State after losing, 4-3, at No. 30 Indiana to open the season.
The Florida Gators feature No. 34 Marrit Boonstra, No. 78 Megan Alexander and No. 99 Anastasia Revzina in singles. The doubles pair of Alexander and Boonstra are 18th in the nation.
The ITA kick-off weekend will be the first match the Oklahoma State Cowgirls have played this spring.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA(1872).
Schdule:
Saturday - 10 a.m. ? Florida vs. Oklahoma
Saturday - 1 p.m. ? South Alabama vs. Western Michigan
Sunday - 10 a.m. ? consolation match
Sunday - 2 p.m. ? championship match
--USA--
