ROME, Ga. – No. 66 nationally ranked and No. 1 overall seed Old Dominion defeated No. 7 seed App State 4-2 to claim its second consecutive Sun Belt Conference Women’s Tennis Tournament Championship. The women followed in stride with the men for the second straight sweep with wins on four singles courts at the Rome Tennis Center.
Old Dominion improved to 17-5 on the year with the victory. App State finishes the season 15-10 after reaching the championship match for the first time in program history. The Mountaineers are the second highest seed (Georgia Southern as a No. 8 seed in 2019) to reach the championship match since the first Sun Belt Women’s Tennis Tournament in 1984.
App State started the match ahead 1-0 winning its fourth doubles point of the tournament. Savannah Dada-Mascoll and Ellie Murphy won 6-1 on court one as Naledi Manyube and Maggie Pate won 6-2 on court three.
Once in singles play, the Monarchs true strength begin to show. Old Dominion quickly jumped out to a 3-1 advantage with straight set victories. Kira Matushkina won 6-3, 6-0 on court five as Singles First Team All-Conference member Alexandra Viktorovitch won 6-1, 6-2 on court two. Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year and Player to Watch Lidiia Rasskouskaia won 7-5, 6-0 on court four to put the Monarchs one point away.
Singles First Team All-Conference member Savannah Dada-Mascoll won 6-2, 6-2 on court one to adjust the score line by a 3-2 margin. However, Sun Belt Freshman of the Year Ulyana Romanova sealed the victory on court six 6-1, 6-4.
Old Dominion earns the Sun Belt Conference’s automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Tournament selection show is slated for Monday, April 29 at 6:30 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.
2024 Sun Belt Women’s Tennis Championship (Rome, Ga.)
First Round – Wednesday, April 24
Match 1 – (13) Southern Miss 4, (12) Arkansas State 3
Match 2 – (11) Louisiana 4, (14) ULM 0
Second Round – Thursday, April 25
Match 3 – (5) Coastal Carolina 4, (13) Southern Miss 0
Match 4 – (9) Georgia State 4, (8) Texas State 3
Match 5 – (6) Georgia Southern 4, (11) Louisiana 1
Match 6 – (7) App State 4, (10) James Madison 3
Quarterfinals - Friday, April 26
Match 7 – (4) South Alabama 4, (5) Coastal Carolina 0
Match 8 – (1) Old Dominion 4, (9) Georgia State 0
Match 9 – (3) Troy 4, (6) Georgia Southern 2
Match 10 – (7) App State 4, (2) Marshall 3
Semifinals - Saturday, April 27
Match 11 – (1) Old Dominion 4, (4) South Alabama 0
Match 12 – (7) App State 4, (3) Troy 1
Championship - Sunday, April 28
Match 13 – (1) Old Dominion 4, (7) App State 2