HATTIESBURG, Miss. — The University of Southern Mississippi women’s tennis team opens the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Thursday at the Rome Tennis Center in Rome, Georgia. The Golden Eagles, seeded 11th, will face No. 6 seed Appalachian State at 1 p.m. CT. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
Southern Miss enters the tournament with an 8-9 record overall and a 1-2 mark in conference play. Appalachian State, which has won five straight matches, holds a 12-10 record. This will be the first meeting of the season between the two programs.
The Golden Eagles wrapped up the regular season with road losses to UAB and Nicholls but finished strong at home, including a 4-3 victory over Georgia Southern and the program’s first-ever win over Tulane, also by 4-3. Key players for Southern Miss include sophomore Sakura Sudo, who was named the Sun Belt Women’s Tennis Player of the Week in March after clinching both doubles and singles points in the win over Georgia Southern. Seniors Miranda Xu and Hannah Chambers have also contributed clinching singles victories during the season.
Appalachian State relies heavily on senior Savannah Dada-Mascoll, ranked 12th nationally, who has a 20-match winning streak entering the tournament. Dada-Mascoll recently recorded her 100th career singles victory in the Mountaineers’ regular-season finale against Georgia State. The team is coached by Hannah Fetters, now in her third year, and features steady contributors such as Ruby Broadbent, Taya Powell, and Naledi Manyube.
The match’s outcome could hinge on doubles play, which has been a strong point for Southern Miss this season. The team often uses doubles wins to set the tone, as seen in recent victories over Georgia Southern and Tulane. The winner will move on to face No. 3 seed Troy in the quarterfinals Friday at 1:30 p.m. CT.
