Southern Miss’ tennis looks ahead to the final games of the season before the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

After polarizing seasons for both teams, Southern Miss tennis prepares to travel for the final games of the season. The men’s team prepares for matches against North Alabama on April 4, the University of Louisiana-Lafayette on April 11 and Nicholls on April 12. The women’s team hosts their final home game on April 7 against Tulane University before getting on the road for matches against the University of Alabama Birmingham on April 10 and Nicholls on April 12.

Sophomore Jose Murariu of the men’s team shared his mindset going into some of the final games of the season.

“We need to start strong right away,” said Murariu. “We can’t take any team for granted as the season goes on and as we go towards the end of the season. We need to really keep stepping up and being sharper and really just getting ready for conference soon, and just keep playing our games and having that strong mentality of not taking any team for granted.”

The men’s team sits at 7-8 before their final games. They shined bright at home with a perfect 5-0 record. The team has struggled in their doubles matches with just a 12-18 doubles record, led by Kale Mize and Jay Temmings 5-0 record. The team makes up for it in their singles matches, where they stand at 31-28 led by Saheb Sodhi’s 7-2 singles record.

Women’s tennis has been a bit more successful in their matches. They stand at 7-6 on the season, with six of their seven wins happening at home. The Golden Eagles hang their hat on their doubles teams with an 18-13 record across their doubles matches. Sakura Sudo and Angelina Blinova lead the team with an 8-3 record. Miranda Xu leads the team’s 24-28 singles record with her 6-2 record. The team’s 7-6 record gives them the second-best record in the Sun Belt Conference.

Both teams start their conference tournament play on April 16th in Rome, Ga.