Women's Golf Advances to Match Play as Ando Captures Individual Sun Belt Title

POINT CLEAR, Ala. -- Southern Miss senior Momoka Ando earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament as she was crowned the Sun Belt women's golf individual champion on Wednesday afternoon at Lakewood Golf Club in Point Clear, Ala. The Golden Eagles also advanced to the match play portion of the tournament after being the only team to shoot below par today.

Ando tied her 54-hole career low thanks to her three-under 69 on the Dogwood Course. Her 207 comes after shooting 70-68-69 for the week. She handily won the event as she finished six strokes ahead of the second-place finisher. She also became the first Golden Eagle to claim a conference championship in program history and qualify for a NCAA Regional.

Southern Miss saw its other four golfers shoot their best round of the tournament as the Golden Eagles came into the final round in a tie for fourth with South Alabama — the top four teams advance to Thursday's match play portion of the tournament. Taylor Trible posted an even-par 72 and ended her round with a nice save on hole nine after having to take a drop. Trible finished in a tie for 21st, while Elena Melich's even-par 72 slid her into a tie for 30th.

Louise Cuyvers carded a two-over 74 to jump into 34th and Alma Betoret had a four-over 76 to finish tied for 43rd. Melich drained the lone eagle this week for Southern Miss as she recorded a three on the par-five first hole. Ando had a team-high five birdies as the team had 15 during the final round. Southern Miss advanced to the match play round for the first time since joining the Sun Belt prior to the 2022-23 season -- their previous best was a fifth-place finish two seasons ago.

The Golden Eagles now advance to face Coastal Carolina in the semifinals tomorrow morning. The winner will advance to play either Georgia Southern or ULM. The semifinal and championship match play rounds begin at 7:30 a.m. CT on Thursday and will be broadcast on ESPN+ with live scoring available through Scoreboard.

Individual Leaderboard
1. Momoka Ando (70 - 68 - 69, 207)
T21. Taylor Trible (75 - 76 - 72, 223)
T30. Elena Melich (81 - 73 - 72, 226)
T34. Louise Cuyvers (76 -77 - 74, 227)
T43. Alma Betoret (78 -77 - 76, 231)

Team Leaderboard
1. Georgia Southern, 870 (+6)
2. Coastal Carolina, 879 (+15)
3. Southern Miss, 880 (+16)
4. ULM, 885 (+21)
5. South Alabama, 891 (+27)
6. Troy, 895 (+28)
7. Texas State, 901 (+37)
T8. Arkansas State, 902 (+38)
T8. Old Dominion, 902 (+38)
10. Georgia State, 906 (+42)
11. James Madison, 911 (+47)
11. Marshall, 925 (+61)
12. App State, 935 (+70)

Women's Golf Advances to Match Play as Ando Captures Individual Sun Belt Title

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Players Mentioned

Momoka Ando

Alma Betoret

Louise Cuyvers

Elena Melich

Taylor Trible