HUNTSVILLE | The University of Alabama in Huntsville tennis teams will open up play at the 2018 Gulf South Conference Tennis Championships on Thursday in Montgomery, Alabama, with both seeds having the No. 8 seed in the tournament and taking on top-seeded West Florida.
 
The men's match is slated for a 9 a.m. start with the women's contest beginning at 1:30 p.m., and both will take place at Lagoon Park.
 
The GSC will be providing live updates on the matches with a special @GSCTennisChamp account on Twitter.
 
The men enter the match at 7-15 and went 3-8 in the GSC to earn their 10th straight trip to the postseason. Freshman James Caddies has had a strong debut season in the Blue and White as he has posted a team-best 12 wins in doubles including an 8-3 mark against conference opponents, and he enters Thursday on a four-match winning streak and is 6-3 in his last 10. Junior transfer Dylan Hall has picked up eight wins for UAH to rank second in singles victories, and he has been best when playing at the No. 3 as he has gone 5-3 in those contests.
 
The doubles pairing of Noah Pring and Caddies rank first on the team with seven victories including a UAH-best four against conference opponents.
 
UWF was ranked No. 6 in the nation in the April 11 ITA Top 50 Poll and enters the conference tournament at 21-2 overall, and the Argos were 8-1 winners over UAH in the regular season meeting in Huntsville.
 
The women's team has battled through a bevy of injuries to go 6-13 and 4-7 in conference play while earning a tournament berth for a third straight season. Freshman Stefanie Mehlich has been terrific for UAH, posting a strong 11-6 mark in singles while playing at the No. 1, and she enters the match as a winner in six of her last nine matches. Cristina Cabanas and Sarah Stearman also have been solid, with both posting eight victories in singles action.
 
Cabanas has also teamed up with Mariana Lopez to be the best doubles pairing for the squad, going 8-5 on the year including a 6-3 mark against GSC opponents.
 
The Argos checked in at No. 2 in the country in the April 11 ITA Top 50 Poll and go into tournament play with an overall mark of 23-3 including an 8-1 win over the Chargers when the two teams met in the regular season.