Southern Miss men’s tennis lost to Troy in the Sun Belt Tournament Quarterfinals.
The No. 7 ranked Golden Eagles entered this game 8-12 on the season and 1-4 in Sun Belt Conference games. Meanwhile, No. 2 ranked Troy held a 21-4 record and a perfect 2-0 in Sun Belt conference games.
In the doubles sets, the Trojans took the early advantage and handed the Golden Eagles 6-2 and 6-3 losses to earn them the doubles point. The Trojans quickly pushed their lead to three with singles set victories on courts six and four. Saheb Sodhi broke the drought for Southern Miss on court three as he won his singles set with his 6-2 and 6-4 victories. Despite Sodhi’s victory, the Golden Eagles fell again on court five as they lost the match 4-1. Troy went on to make it all the way to the championship match.
Looking back at their season, Southern Miss was a perfect 5-0 at home, but struggled on the road with a 2-10 away record. In their singles games, the Golden Eagles held a 38-43 record, with Sodhi leading the way with a 10-4 record in his singles matches. However in their doubles matches, the team was a collective 16-24, led by Kale Mize’s 6-2 record and Eric Perkowski’s 6-11 record. Mize and Jay Temming were a perfect 5-0 when paired up in doubles matches, but Sodhi and Perkowski was the most used pairing with a record of 4-7.
Despite the quick end to the season, the Golden Eagles had consistent individual success by their players. Jose Murariu, Mize and Sodhi each earned wins against Power 4 opponents, and the Sodhi-Perkowski duo reached No.40 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) national rankings. With Sodhi and Perkowski being the only two graduating players, the team will look to continue to grow and develop for the next season.
