HUNTSVILLE | The University of Alabama in Huntsville tennis teams will open up play at the 2017 Gulf South Conference Men's and Women's Tennis Championships on Thursday as the sixth-seeded women will take on the No. 3 seed West Alabama with the No. 8 seed men's team squaring off against top-seeded West Florida.
 
The women's match is slated for 9 a.m., and the men's contest will start at 1:30 p.m. Both contests will be held in Montgomery.
 
The women's squad went 5-5 in conference play, picking up victories over Christian Brothers, Shorter, Lee, Delta State, and West Georgia. Marta Briega was especially strong in GSC matches, registering a 5-1 mark in singles play, while both Marleen Gort and Naomi Esteve also enjoyed success in conference action with each winning four times against GSC opponents.
 
UAH and West Alabama met in the regular season on Feb. 20 in Livingston where the Tigers won 8-1. The lone point for the Chargers came from the pairing of Gort and Esteve in doubles as they were 8-4 winners at the second position.
 
The men's team went 2-7 in GSC play, reaching the tournament for the ninth consecutive year, and the team will play UWF for the second straight season in the postseason. Elliot Hopson and Sebastian Rohrbach both won four matches in league action against their singles opponents to lead the Chargers.
 
West Florida knocked off UAH 9-0 in the regular season.