NEW ORLEANS --  Appalachian State University men's tennis (12-8) will be seeded seventh in the 2017 Sun Belt Championship held in New Orleans at City Park Tennis Courts, as the league announced the bracket onTuesday.

The Mountaineers will face No. 2 seed and 47th-ranked South Alabama on Friday at 7:30 p.m. (ET) in the first round. In all three seasons in the Sun Belt, the Apps have played South Alabama in the tournament as the lower seed.

The Black and Gold suffered a 4-1 setback in the semifinal matchup last season to USA after recording their first-ever Sun Belt Tournament win in the first round, stunning No. 3 seed and then-defending SBC Tournament Champion, Troy. 

Appalachian finished the season 12-8 while finishing the year with a 9-3 mark after a 3-5 start. App State has four student-athletes with at least 12 victories led by Scott Webster, who has 14 singles wins.  Webster and Milo Bargeron lead the team with a 9-2 mark in doubles action.

USA finished the year with an impressive 21-5 mark while going into the tournament on a four-match win streak. USA fell in the Sun Belt Tournament Final last season, 4-1, to UT Arlington.