KENNESAW, Ga. - In the season finale for the men, and the Atlantic Sun Conference finale for the women, the tennis teams host Mercer on Tuesday, April 6 at 1:00 p.m.  This is a crucial match for the women, as it will determine the #5 and #6 seeds in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament next week at Stetson University.  The Owl men hope to play spoiler to Mercer's waning conference tournament hopes.

On the women's side, the Owls (11-10, 3-6 A-Sun) face off against a Mercer squad (7-8, 3-6 A-Sun) that they defeated 7-0 a year ago.  In the preseason polls, Mercer was picked to finish in ninth place, with the Owls picked sixth, but head coach Brandon Padgett said his team will be coming into the match prepared for a battle.

"They have the same A-Sun record that we have," indicated Padgett, "and they have played the same schedule we have, so I am in no way taking this lightly and neither is our team.  Mercer is an improved squad from a year ago."

The Bears are coming off of victories over Belmont and Lipscomb this weekend, as are the Owls.  The Bears are coached by first-year head coach Warren Woolfolk.

On the men's side, the Owls (7-13, 1-8 A-Sun) are trying to finish with one more win this season than in their inaugural season last year.  The Owls will need to handle a Mercer squad which handed them a 6-1 defeat a year ago.  The Bears (8-9, 2-7 A-Sun) are still mathematically alive for the final playoff spot, but would need a victory over the Owls and a loss by Belmont against Lipscomb in order to take the sixth and final spot in the tournament.  Both the Bears and the Owls split their matches this weekend, defeating Lipscomb 6-1, and losing to Belmont by identical 5-2 counts.

"This is essentially going to be a dead heat," indicated Owls head coach T.J. Greggs.  "Last season we had a very poor showing against Mercer, and I would like to turn that around this season and end things on a high note."

The first 100 fans in attendance will receive free Papa John's Pizza.  All Tennis matches are free to the general public and are played at the KSU Tennis Complex.  Match time is 1:00 p.m.