Southern Miss Athletics

The University of Southern Mississippi women’s golf team won the 2025 Sun Belt Conference Championship, held April 14–17 at Lakewood Golf Club in Point Clear, Alabama. The Golden Eagles defeated No. 33 Georgia Southern in the final match to claim the title.
The tournament began with 54 holes of stroke play, followed by match play among the top four teams. Southern Miss, seeded third, faced No. 2 Coastal Carolina in the semifinals, while top-seeded Georgia Southern played No. 4 ULM.
“Coastal Carolina was arguably the most consistent team all week in the field,” USM head coach Colton Cowan said. “We knew being patient and just being in control of ourselves was going to be the biggest factor for us to win.”
Southern Miss advanced to the final with a 3-2 win over Coastal Carolina. Georgia Southern, which led throughout stroke play, advanced by defeating ULM.
“I was really excited,” said senior Momoka Ando. “My teammates are good at match play, so I trusted them a lot. I feel like I’m good at stroke play, so I played my own game without thinking too much about match play.”
The Golden Eagles had a short turnaround, beginning their final match against Georgia Southern 45 minutes after the semifinals concluded.
“We really didn’t have time to process,” Cowan said. “It’s just enough time to gather ourselves, then get ready for the next challenge. We knew Georgia Southern was strong, […] but one thing we have been adamant about is our goal is to be the best we can be and not be influenced by outside factors.”
Southern Miss secured the title with a 2-1 lead, with two matches still in progress. Ando clinched the win on the 17th hole of her match.
“We have been working for this championship for four years now, so I was very excited to see that we won,” Ando said. “We have been working really hard all year with tons of extra practice, so I was glad to reap the benefits of all of my and the team’s hard work.”
The Golden Eagles finished with a 3-1-1 record in the final match.
“Something we talked about all year is nerves and learning to use them as a fuel source and not as a hindrance,” Cowan said. “When pressure was its highest, and chaos the most extreme, is where we saw them dig deep and focus on the task at hand.”
The championship win qualifies Southern Miss for NCAA Regionals for the first time in program history. The Regionals will be held May 5–7. The format includes 54 holes of stroke play, with the top five teams from each of the six regional sites advancing to the NCAA Championship.
“Champions aren’t born on the last day of the championship,” Cowan said. “They are born in August, working hard, and being disciplined on what they need to do to be successful. Constantly developing.”