Eagles Soar in the Sun Belt

Women’s Tennis Fights Back from 3-1 Deficit to Win the Sun Belt Championship

The Georgia Southern women’s tennis team capped an 11-game win streak with their first Sun Belt tournament title and first NCAA Championship appearance in school history.

The second-seeded Eagles overcame a 3-1 deficit, winning a pair of third-set matches to claim the 2021 Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championship with a 4-3 victory over East top seed South Alabama on April 18 at the Peachtree Tennis Center in Peachtree City, Georgia. Georgia Southern finished the season 19-8, a school-record, single-season win total. The Eagles tournament win also avenged a 4-1 loss to South Alabama in the 2019 Sun Belt Tournament Championship match.

“It’s so good to see the team experience this, with so many fans and former players from both the men’s and women’s teams at Georgia Southern,” said Head Coach Sean McCaffrey. “It was great to share that experience with them. This was really special. We started this, almost from scratch. In just four seasons, the women have done an amazing job. I’m proud of the team, and proud to be a part of Georgia Southern. This was their main goal at the beginning of the season, and they accomplished it. If things get in your way, you just have to stay true to the philosophy and the process, and amazing things can happen. Our women showed that today.”

The Eagles tournament win was hard-fought. They claimed the doubles point to take an early 1-0 lead. Sonja Keranen and Elizabeth Goines picked up a 6-3 win at No. 3 doubles, then Charlotte van Diemen and Sophie Wagemaker rallied from a 5-4 deficit to win 7-5 at No. 1 doubles over Cami Moreno and Yurie Takanishi.

South Alabama seemingly took control of the match early in singles, winning five of six first sets. Yu Fujioka avenged an earlier-season loss at No. 1 singles to the Eagles’ Nadja Meier with a 6-4, 6-3 win to tie the match at 1-all. Moreno then downed Sophie Wagemaker, 6-1, 6-4, at No. 3 singles to put the Jaguars in front. Otoho Aoki’s 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 5 singles made the score 3-1, when the Eagles’ Mila Hartig collected a 6-2, 7-5 win at No. 4 singles to close the gap to 3-2.

“I just kept on walking around and saying, ‘be relentless,’” said McCaffrey. “Just because we’re down now, it’s a three-set match. So find a way to dig down deep.”

After dropping their first sets, Paula Boixader and Elizabeth Goines each rallied to win their second sets at No. 2 and No. 6 singles, respectively, and send their singles matches to deciding third sets.

“With Paula, I knew we needed some sort of momentum shift,” McCaffrey said. “I told her at 3-2 in the second set that any time you get a ball in the middle of the court, extend the court and go big off the forehand. And if you win two or three points in a row, go crazy, cheering. It really turned her game on and was a big difference maker.”

Boixader finished off a 6-3 third-set win to tie the score at 3-all, then Goines won 6-2 in the third set over Diana Monsalve, closing out the match by winning 13 of her last 15 points in the set and sealing the championship win. Her teammates rushed onto the court after the final point.

“[Assistant coach Lena Lutzeier] and I told Liz at the beginning of the year that she was going to clinch the conference championship for us in Atlanta. And she did it,” said McCaffrey.

Georgia Southern faced Georgia Tech in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on May 7 in Atlanta. The Yellow Jackets, ranked 13th in the country, defeated the Eagles 5-0.

The Eagles lose fifth-year senior Paula Boixader and senior Charlotte van Diemen from this season’s squad and return nine players for 2021-22.

Men’s Golf Wins Second Sun Belt Championship

The Eagles topped Coastal Carolina 4-0-1 in the semifinals and defeated Little Rock 3-1-1 in the finals to win the Sun Belt Championship on April 28 at Mystic Creek Golf Club in El Dorado, Arkansas.

It was an especially satisfying win for fifth-year seniors Brett Barron and Jake Maples, who opted to return to Georgia Southern for their extra year of eligibility after the spring 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Maples never trailed and won both his matches, and Barron won one and tied one to lead the Eagles to their second Sun Belt title (2015) and their 10th conference championship overall. The win snapped a three-year streak of runner-up finishes for Georgia Southern in match play (2017, 2018, 2019).

“I could not be more proud of these guys and everything they accomplished this week on an extremely difficult golf course and in an extremely difficult format,” said Head Coach Carter Collins. “I’m especially proud of Brett and Jake for coming back for their fifth year; they definitely deserve this. I’m proud of the whole team for putting forth a great effort this week and all year. I can’t wait to see what’s next. Go Eagles!”

After Ben Carr and Maples won their matches early against Little Rock, Mason Williams made a 25-footer for birdie on 15 to go 2-UP. On hole 17, he yanked his second shot into the woods and scrambled for bogey. Little Rock’s Nico Horder was on the dance floor with a 20-footer for birdie, but he three-putted to halve the hole and give Williams the win.

All five guys in the lineup won a match today with Maples and Carr winning two and Williams, Barron and Luke Dasher each picking up a victory.

On Tuesday, Ben Carr shot an even-par 72, and Luke Dasher carded a 70, the lowest round of the day, to lead the Georgia Southern men’s golf team to first place in the stroke play portion of the championship.

Carr (+3) birdied 12 and 13 and finished the day with five straight pars to take medalist honors by four strokes over Dasher (+7) and Seth Taylor and Zack Taylor of Coastal Carolina. It was Carr’s second win this season and the sixth time the junior has finished in the top-5 in his career, which includes four this season.

It was the fourth time an Eagle has won medalist honors in the Sun Belt Championship since the school joined the league prior to the 2014-15 season, and the 10th time an Eagle has finished first at the conference championship.

The wins earned Georgia Southern an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, a three-round event held May 17-19 at the Seminole Legacy Club in Tallahassee, Florida. In the last round, the Eagles ran their team score to 9-under through 11 holes, flirting with the cutline to move to the finals, but gave up strokes on the more difficult back 9 and ended the day even to finish eighth.

Carr shot 72 at the regional tournament to tie for 14th on the individual leaderboard, and Barron tied for 35th in his final collegiate tournament. Dasher posted a 72, Mason Williams carded a 73 and Maples shot a 74 to tie for 37th in his final collegiate event.

The Eagles return eight lettermen to the 2021-22 roster, including Carr, Dasher and Williams, who were in the lineup for the regional as well as the Sun Belt Championships.