ROME, Ga. – No. 10 seed Marshall pulled off its third upset in as many days as No. 1 seed Old Dominion won its semifinal match at the 2026 Sun Belt Women’s Tennis Championship at the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College.
The matchup between the Thundering Herd and the Monarchs repeats as the title bout from last season. The championship match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Match 10: (1) Old Dominion 4, (4) Arkansas State 1
Box Score
Top seeded Old Dominion (12-5) won the doubles point and lost just three sets across the six courts to return to the championship match for the fourth consecutive season.
The Monarch duo of Lidiia Rasskouskaia and Ulyana Romanova secured the first doubles court on three winning 6-1. Teammates Victoria Matasova and Kira Matushkina secured the doubles point on court one by a 6-3 margin.
Headed to singles, Romanova was the first to finish on court three, winning 6-2, 6-1 to give the Monarchs a 2-0 advantage. Rasskouskaia was the next Monarch to finish on court five winning 6-1, 7-5. Trailing 3-0, Arkansas State’s Lilly Cvanciger won 6-3, 6-4 on court two to narrow the margin to two, 3-1. Old Dominion’s Marina Markina secured the victory on court six, winning 7-5, 6-4. The Monarchs return to the championship match for the fourth consecutive year.
Match 11: (10) Marshall 4, (6) App State 3
Box Score
No. 10 seed Marshall (15-10) advanced to the Sun Belt Women’s Tennis Championship match for the second consecutive year after upsetting a higher seeded opponent for the third consecutive match in Rome.
In a tightly contested bout, App State (13-11) won the first doubles match on court three with Sreenidhi Balaji and Allegra Hodson winning 6-3. Marshall responded on court one as Alina Mokrynska and Johanna Strom finished second, 6-4. The Thundering Herd pairing of Sarah Copley and Nour El Ouazzani won the tiebreak 7-5 to secure the decisive doubles point for Marshall.
Facing an uphill climb, Hodson tied the match at one for App State on court five, finishing 6-4, 6-4. Marshall’s Polina Gumeniuk was the next court to finish nearly immediately after on court two, winning 6-2, 6-2. App State’s Ruby Broadbent lost the first set 6-3 on court six, but stormed back 6-0, 6-1 to tie the match at 2-2.
After a brief weather delay, Marshall’s Mokrynska won 7-6 (5), 6-1 on court three to put the Herd ahead 3-2. App State’s Savannah Dada-Mascoll also fell in the first set 6-3, but answered in the final two frames 6-4, 6-4 to tie the match at 3-3.
Marshall continued its streak and won all three tiebreak points during the match, as Copley provided the heroics on court four. App State won the first set 6-4, and the tiebreak in the second set was won by Copley 10-8. She finished the third set 6-1 to return the Herd to the championship match.
2026 Sun Belt Women’s Tennis Championship (Rome, Ga.)
First Round – Wednesday, April 22
Match 1 – (12) Georgia Southern 4, (13) Georgia State 1
Second Round - Thursday, April 23
Match 2 – (5) Texas State 4, (12) Georgia Southern 1
Match 3 – (9) James Madison 4, (8) Coastal Carolina 0
Match 4 – (6) App State 4, (11) Southern Miss 1
Match 5 – (10) Marshall 4, (7) Louisiana 0
Quarterfinals - Friday, April 24
Match 6 – (1) Old Dominion 4, (9) James Madison 0
Match 7 – (4) Arkansas State 4, (5) Texas State 0
Match 8 – (10) Marshall 4, (2) South Alabama 1
Match 9 – (6) App State 4, (3) Troy 2
Semifinals - Saturday, April 25
Match 10 – (1) Old Dominion 4, (4) Arkansas State 1
Match 11 – (10) Marshall 4, (6) App State 3
Championship - Sunday, April 26
Match 12 – (1) Old Dominion vs. (10) Marshall – 1:00 p.m. ET