KENNESAW, Ga. - The men's tennis team looks to pick up its first win in the Atlantic Sun Conference this weekend when they play host to the University of North Florida and Jacksonville University.  The Owls (5-9, 0-4 A-Sun) have struggled so far this season, having to open the season playing all three of the teams currently in first place in the conference.

"Our record is hopefully deceiving," commented head coach T.J. Greggs.  "Three of the teams we have played are undefeated in the conference so far, so the men are trying to look at the big picture and realize our best opportunities are still ahead of us."

On Friday, the Owls will square off with UNF (12-4, 3-1 A-Sun), the team sitting directly behind the undefeated trio of ETSU, Campbell, and USC-Upstate.  UNF features an almost entirely new lineup from last season, with five of their six starters being transfers or freshmen.  Leading the way in victories for the Ospreys is junior Hleb Maslau, who is 13-3 primarily at the No. 3 spot.

For the Owls, the best record of the spring belongs to freshmen Gokalp Ozdemir at 6-4.  Ozdemir has played his way up the Owls lineup after starting the spring season with an elbow injury which sidelined him for a few matches.  Recently, the Owls doubles lineup has improved dramatically, with the No. 3 tandem of Ozdemir and sophomore Justin Suesserman recently upsetting ETSU's No. 3 team.

"We've been doing positive things in practice, and it has paid off in our level of play," continued Greggs.  "This week has been a very good week of preparation, and the team is hungry to improve right now."

Saturday's match may prove to be crucial to the final standings in the Atlantic Sun Conference, with Jacksonville (6-6, 2-2 A-Sun) picked to finish 8th in the conference standings, and the Owls picked 10th.  A pack of five teams, including the Dolphins, Owls, Mercer, Belmont and Lipscomb, are expected to compete for one of the spots in the six-team Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament along with preseason favorites Campbell, ETSU, Stetson and UNF.

"Saturday's match is going to be critical to our success this season," added Greggs.  "I am confident that our depth can pull us through that match and get us heading in the right direction as the second half of the Atlantic Sun schedule hits."

The Dolphins are led by senior Victor Vaz, who plays at the top spot for head coach Shane Wood.  Like the Ospreys, the Dolphins feature a lineup with only two returning players, Vaz and fellow senior Jaime Esteban.

The match with UNF will begin on Friday at 2:00 p.m. and the Saturday tilt with Jacksonville will begin at 10:00 a.m.  Admission is free to the public, and parking is available at the East Parking Deck on campus.