ROME, Ga. – Old Dominion women’s tennis downed Marshall 4-1 to earn its third straight Sun Belt Conference championship on Sunday afternoon.
It is the fifth straight conference championship and sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament berth for the Monarchs. ODU won Conference USA titles in 2021 and 2022 before its three straight Sun Belt titles.
Marshall got the day started as No. 2 Sophia Hurrion and Aisling McGrane downed Ulyana Romanova and Lidiia Rasskouskaia by a 6-2 score in the first doubles match. However, No.1 Sofia Johnson and Victoria Matasova responded with a win for ODU, defeating Emma Vanderheyden and Alina Mokrynska (6-4) and leaving the deciding point to court three. In a tiebreaker set, Nel Van Hout and Johanna Strom overcame Marina Markina and Kira Matushkina (7-5) to give Marshall the first point of the match.
Old Dominion entered the singles matches strong, with No. 2 Matushkina downing Vanderbeyden (6-2, 6-1) and No. 5 Matasova following suit with a strong win over Hurrion (6-2, 6-0). No. 4 Romanova put the Monarchs at match point after besting McGrane (6-2, 6-2), and No. 3 Rasskouskaia clinched ODU’s third straight SBC championship with a 7-6, 6-2 win over Mokrynska.
No. 1 Johnson’s and No. 5 Markina’s matches against Strom (6-2, 2-6) and Nour El Ouazzani (7-5, 3-5) were suspended respectively.
Old Dominion finds out its NCAA opponent and destination tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. Fans can stream the selection show on NCAA.com.
#46 Old Dominion 4, #72 Marshall 1
Singles competition
- #24 Sofia Johnson (ODU) vs. Johanna Strom (MU) 6-2, 2-6, unfinished
- Kira Matushkina (ODU) def. Emma Vanderbeyden (MU) 6-2, 6-1
- #117 Lidiia Rasskouskaia (ODU) def. Alina Mokrynska (MU) 7-6, 6-2
- Ulyana Romanova (ODU) vs. Aisling McGrane (MU) 6-2, 6-2
- Victoria Matasova (ODU) def. Sophia Hurrion (MU) 6-2, 6-0
- Marina Markina (ODU) vs. Nour El Ouazzani (MU) 7-5, 3-5, unfinished
Doubles competition
- SofIa Johnson and Victoria Matasova (ODU) def. Emma Vanderbeyden and Alina Mokrynska (MU) 6-4
- Sophia Hurrion and Aisling McGrane (MU) def. Lidiia Rasskouskaia and Ulyana Romanova (ODU) 6-2
- Nel Van Hout and Johanna Strom (MU) def. Marina Markina and Kira Matushkina (ODU) 7-5
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (2,5,4,3)