BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State University University men's tennis will begin it's quest for a Southern Conference Tournament title when it plays its first match in the first round of the SoCon Tournament in Elon, N.C.

The Mountaineers (6-14, 3-7 SoCon), who enter the tournament at the No. 9 seed in the field of 11 teams, will take on No. 8 Furman on Thursday, April 18 at 9 a.m.

Elon, which won the SoCon regular-season title, enters play as the No. 1 overall seed and will take on the winner of No. 8 Furman and No. 9 Appalachian, while Samford, which earned the No. 2 seed following a three-way tie with CofC and UNCG, will face either No. 7 Davidson or No. 10 Wofford.

As the No. 3 seed, College of Charleston is slated to take on No. 6 Georgia Southern or No. 11 The Citadel. Fourth-seeded UNCG earned a first-round bye and will face Chattanooga, who earned a fifth seed after winning a head-to-head meeting against Georgia Southern, in the quarterfinals.

Junior Sebastien King heads the Mountaineer lineup from the No. 1 position, while senior Steve Karendal picked up five conference wins in the No. 2 slot. Zach Bost rounds out Appalachian's top half at No. 3.

Senior veteran Andrew McKinnon and junior Matt Saltsgaver have four and five league wins at the No. 4 and 5 positions, respectively. Jan-Willem Kleynhans completes the singles lineup at No. 6.

Appalachian's doubles lineup includes No. 1 tandem King and Bost, along with the No. 2  pair of Kleynhans and McKinnon, who have a combined 11 conference victories.

Appalachian is 0-3 versus first-round opponent Furman since 1998, when the tournament changed from an individual to a team format. This year's team will seek its second-straight semifinals appearance after last year's run; App's first since 2008.

A printable version of the complete bracket can be downloaded HERE.

Thursday's matches will take place at Jimmy Powell Tennis Center on the Elon University campus, with all contests from Friday-Monday being played at Burlington Tennis Center. The SoCon Championship match is slated for a 2 p.m. start on Sunday afternoon. 

Fans looking for accommodations for their stay in Elon during the tournament can find hotel, restaurant and other information HERE.