USM teams complete in C-USA championships

Four Southern Miss athletic teams have completed their respective conference championships over the past week. Men’s and women’s golf completed play this week, while men’s and women’s tennis completed play last week.

Men’s golf began their conference tournament Sunday morning at the Texarkana Country Club in Texarkana, Ark. The team, although having one of its better season in recent years, finished 9th overall out of 11 teams. The team finished thirty-five strokes off of first place Memphis.

Redshirt senior Nick Brown was the bright spot for the Eagles, finishing tied for tenth place. Brown, who has had two other top ten finishes in his career. Brown recorded rounds of 72, 73 and 72 on the par-72, 6,935 yard course in route to his best finish of the year.

Zach Estep finished tied for 27th place and Kevin Brady finished tied for 34th to round out the top three for the Eagles.

Women’s golf finished up their conference tournament Wednesday in Gulf Shores, Ala at the Peninsula Golf and Racquet Club. The tournament took place on the par-72, 6,426 yard Cypress-Marsh course.

The Lady Eagles shot a three day total of 127 over par, finishing in tenth place. Sandra Sohlberg took top honors among the Lady Eagles, shooting 26 over par on the tournament. Sohlberg finished 38th overall. Brandi Rodriguez finished tied for 39th, shooting 27 over par.

Rodriguez was the team’s leader going in to day three, but Sohlberg’s final round of 76 pushed her ahead of Rodriguez by one stroke.

Men’s and Women’s tennis competed in the Conference-USA championships at the end of last week.

Men’s tennis, whose conference tournament was located in Orlando, Fl. at the UCF Tennis Complex, was eliminated from the tournament in the quarterfinals by Memphis, who is ranked number 33 in the country. Memphis would eventually go on to lose to Tulsa in tournament finals.

Memphis put the Eagles away 4-0 on Saturday morning, after the match was delayed Friday night with inclement weather.  

Men’s tennis ends the season with a 9-15 record, matching the number of wins from last season’s team. The team has no juniors or seniors, so the team looks to improve as they will have everyone back next season.

Women’s tennis also concluded their conference championships in Memphis, Tenn., with a 4-0 loss to No. 6 seeded Houston in the first round of play. The team, in a transition year after losing their coach mid season, looks to improve on their 3-19 record next season.

The women’s tennis team will look to replace lone senior Elja van Berlo next season. She was the team leader in individual wins this season with 12. She also contributed 10 additional wins in doubles.

Baseball, softball and track and field still remain to compete at their conference championships. Baseball’s tournament is scheduled for May 23-27 at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss.- a venue the Eagles have played at already this season. Softball is scheduled to begin their conference tournament May 10-12 at the UAB Softball Complex in Birmingham, Ala. Track and field will compete in the Conference-USA championships in New Orleans, La. at Tad Gormley Stadium. Tulane is hosting the track and field championships.