Feb. 12, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford men's and women's tennis teams will take on in-state rival Jacksonville State Wednesday in Jacksonville, Ala. The mid-week match kicks off the conference season for both teams.

The Samford men, who were picked to finish second in the OVC this year, come off a weekend in which they split a pair of matches with two good Louisiana teams. On Friday, the Bulldog men earned their second win of the season over Southeastern Louisiana before falling on Saturday to Louisiana-Lafayette. The Bulldogs are now 2-5 on the season and hope to begin conference play with a win.

The Jacksonville State men were the conference pick to repeat a championship this season. The Gamecock men are 1-2 on the season so far, sweeping Alabama State but falling to both Troy and Auburn-Montgomery.

The Samford women were the top pick of the conference preseason polls this year. Conference coaches said that the Bulldog women were the likely candidate for an OVC Championship this season. So far, the Bulldogs have been successful, maintaining a 4-0 undefeated record. Samford has so far beaten Georgia State, future Southern Conference opponent Georgia Southern, Southern Illinois and Memphis. The Bulldogs hope to start the conference season on a good note and grab a win on the road.

The Jacksonville State women are 2-1 to start the season, looking to bounce back from sweeping loss to Auburn-Montgomery in their home opener. The Gamecocks began the season with wins over Alabama State and Troy before suffering the loss to AUM.

Match play with the Gamecocks starts at 1:30 p.m. with the men's teams followed by the women's teams at 2 p.m. A full recap and results will be available on www.samfordsports.com upon completion of the matches.