ROME, Ga. — The App State tennis team defeated No. 11 seed Southern Miss 4-1 in the second round of the Sun Belt Championship on Thursday. The Mountaineers advance to the quarterfinals to face Troy on Friday at 2:30 p.m. in a rematch of the 2025 quarterfinal round.
Savannah Dada-Mascoll, ranked No. 14, won her 21st consecutive match at No. 1 singles with a straight-set victory, 6-3, 6-1.
Singles play anchored the win for App State, with all four points coming via straight-set victories. Freshman
Sreenidhi Balaji clinched the match for the Mountaineers, winning 6-4, 6-3 at No. 3, marking her second straight win and her first career victory at that position.
How It Happened
The Mountaineers (13-10) fell behind early after dropping the doubles point with losses at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. The reigning Sun Belt Doubles Team of the Week,
Ruby Broadbent and Dada-Mascoll, won handily at No. 1, 6-1. However, the freshman duo of Balaji and
Allegra Hodson fell in a tiebreaker at No. 2, losing 7-6 (7-5) to concede the opening point.
Trailing 1-0 entering singles, Dada-Mascoll cruised to victory to even the score. Hodson finished shortly after to give the Mountaineers their first lead, recording her third bagel of the season in a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 4. Broadbent followed with a 6-2, 6-1 victory at No. 5 to put App State within one point of the overall match win.
Balaji then closed it out for the Mountaineers, securing the program's first postseason win since 2024. The result marks App State's third consecutive 4-1 victory over Southern Miss (8-10) also dating back to the 2024 season.
Up Next
The Mountaineers will take on the Troy Trojans in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Championship. First serve from Rome is scheduled for 2:30 p.m, streaming on ESPN+.
Results:
(Doubles)
Ruby Broadbent/
Savannah Dada-Mascoll (APP) def. Angelina Blinova/Sakura Sudo (USM) | 6-1
Hannah Chambers/Miranda Xu (USM) def.
Naledi Manyube/
Taya Powell (APP) | 6-3
Kamornwan Kornsila/Pimmada Lim (USM) def.
Sreenidhi Balaji/
Allegra Hodson (APP) | 7-6 (7-5)
(Singles)
#14
Savannah Dada-Mascoll (APP) def. Angelina Blinova (USM) | 6-2, 6-1
Naledi Manyube (APP) vs. Sakura Sudo (USM) | 1-6, 6-3, 1-3, unfinished
Sreenidhi Balaji (APP) def. Hannah Chambers (USM) | 6-4, 6-3
Allegra Hodson (APP) def. Miranda Xu (USM) | 6-2, 6-0
Ruby Broadbent (APP) def. Pimmada Lim (USM) | 6-2, 6-1
Alexi Cleveland (APP) vs. Kamornwan Kornsila (USM) | 7-6 (7-3), 3-2, unfinished
