Oct. 27, 2005

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University men's and women's tennis teams will head across town to compete in their final tournament of the fall season when they play in the Birmingham-Southern Fall Invitational this weekend.

The tournament will feature team competition, as opposed to individual draws that most fall tournaments have. This will give the Bulldogs an opportunity to better prepare for what they'll see in the spring season.

The Bulldog men will face Ohio Valley Conference rival Jacksonville State on Friday before taking on intra-city rivals UAB and Birmingham-Southern on Saturday and Sunday.

"We're looking forward to this tournament," said Samford men's head coach Kemper Baker. "This will give us a chance to get a lot of guys some match experience against some pretty tough teams. We're going deep into our team, and a lot of guys will play. We're excited about finishing off the fall season, and this will give us a good chance to see where we stand heading into the spring."

The Samford women will face cross-town rival UAB on Friday, then they will take on OVC rival Jacksonville State and host Birmingham-Southern on Saturday and Sunday.

"We're very excited to finish off the year strong," said Samford women's head coach Terri Sisk. "We've had a great fall, and everyone is healthy. We want to end the fall on a high note, and hopefully this is an indication of how we'll do this spring."

The tournament begins on Friday morning and will go all day.