Women's Golf Crowned Sun Belt Tournament Champions

POINT CLEAR, Ala. -- The Southern Miss women's golf etched its name into the history books on Thursday afternoon as it won the Sun Belt Tournament Championship at Lakewood Golf Club in Point Clear, Ala. The Golden Eagles notched their first conference championship and NCAA berth in program history.

First-year head coach Colton Cowan guided his team to a 3-2 win over Coastal Carolina in the morning match play round on the Dogwood Course. The Golden Eagles then got paired with a nationally ranked Georgia Southern team in the championship match and walked away with a 3.5-1.5 win to claim the team title. Taylor Trible and Momoka Ando clinched the two wins for Southern Miss as they now await the NCAA Selection Show.

Yesterday, Momoka Ando also claimed the first Sun Belt Individual Championship in school history and earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. The 2025 regional sites include OSU Golf Club (Columbus, Ohio), University Club of Kentucky (Lexington, Ky.), Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club (Norman, Okla.) and Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club (Golf Canyon, Ariz.). The 2025 NCAA Women's Golf Regionals selection show will be aired live on the Golf Channel on Wednesday, April 23 at 10 a.m. CT.

Southern Miss 3, Coastal Carolina 2
Sun Belt individual champion Momoka Ando led start to finish against Aoife Devaney to set the tone for the Golden Eagles in the semifinal match. The senior birdied the first hole of the day as she cruised to a 4&2 win that included four birdies and an eagle on the first hole of the front nine. Ando's birdie on the seventh hole clinched the victory as Devaney bogeyed.

Sara Sarrion picked up the first points of the morning for the Chanticleers as she topped Louise Cuyvers, 3&2. The Golden Eagle freshman got off to a quick start as she took a lead after paring hole 11. Sarrion answered with back-to-back wins on hole 14 and hole 15. She added two more wins on hole 18 and hole 1, but Cuyvers made things interesting after having a birdie on the third hole and an eagle on hole four. Down one, Cuyvers conceded on the fifth and seventh holes to fall in her match play debut.

Elena Melich matched Ando's pace en route to handily beating Ella Murray, 3&2. Melich won the tenth hole to start the morning and added two more on the back nine to take a 3-0 lead at the turn. Murray eagled hole one to get on the board, but Melich had a birdie on hole two to swing momentum back to Southern Miss. Murray won again on hole six before Melich clinched the match with a birdie on the seventh hole.

The team match came down to Taylor Trible and Carolina Hortian, who were the final pairing off the tenth tee box this morning. Trible took an early advantage with a par on hole 13 before Hortian tied the match on hole 15. The pair split hole 16 and hole 17 to into the turn tied. Trible went up 2-0 with pars on the fifth and sixth holes. Hortian cut into the Trible lead with a birdie on hole seven to make it a one-hole lead heading into the final hole. Trible put her second shot on the ninth hole towards the tee boxes of hole 10, but had a nice approach shot to put herself within putting distance. The Golden Eagle junior then putted in for par as Hortian finished with a bogey, which gave Southern Miss the win.

Southern Miss 3.5, Georgia Southern 1.5
Trible fell behind on the first hole against Regina Plascencia but eventually gave Southern Miss its first points of the day. The junior scored on back-to-back holes after Plascencia's opening points, then scored on hole seven and hole eight to take a sizable lead. Plascencia answered with back-to-back hole wins before Trible scored on hole 13 and then hole 15 to secure the victory.

Cuyvers then narrowly defeated fellow freshman Mary Miller to put the Golden Eagles ahead 2-0. The Belgian was tied after the sixth hole before she rattled off five-straight hole wins to go up five with seven to play. Miller, though, clawed back and won three consecutive holes to cut the deficit to two. Both golfers pared hole 17, which ended the match with one hole unplayed.

Georgia Southern got on the board after LoraLie Cowart defeated Betoret, 3&2. The Golden Eagle sophomore tried to make things interesting with a birdie on hole 12 but couldn't pick up anymore as she and Cowart split the remaining four. Melich was down two as she went to hole 15 alongside Louise Reau. The Southern Miss senior came up big for Cowan's squad as she rattled off three-straight wins to tie the match heading into the 18th hole. Melich and Cowart split the final hole, which forced a playoff — that eventually went unfinished.

Ando played hero one last time this week for the Golden Eagles. The senior fell behind 3-1 as she went onto the ninth tee box but then drained a birdie putt to get momentum going. She followed with a par on hole 10 to even the match back up. Ando took her first lead of the match with a birdie on hole 13. Drive Tunwannarux made a couple big shots to remain within striking distance, but Ando made her final move on hole 17. After finding the green on her first shot on the par-three, Ando had a lengthy putt that could clinch the win. Just as she did yesterday winning the individual championship, Ando drained the putt and gave Southern Miss the team championship.

No. 3 Southern Miss def. No. 1 Georgia Southern, 3.5-1.5
Louise Cuyvers (USM) def. Mary Miller (GSU), 2&1
Taylor Trible (USM) def. Regina Plascencia (GSU), 3&2
Louise Reau (GSU) tied Elena Melich (USM), Tied
LoraLie Cowart (GSU) def. Alma Betoret (USM), 3&2
Momoka Ando (USM) def. Drive Tunwannarux (GSU), 2&1

No. 3 Southern Miss 3, No. 2 Coastal Carolina 2
Sara Sarrion (CCU) def. Louise Cuyvers (USM), 3&2
Elena Melich (USM) def. Ella Murray (CCU), 3&2
Varatkarn Kunkaew (CCU) def. Alma Betoret (USM), 3&2
Momoka Ando (USM) def. Aoife Devaney (CCU), 4&2
Taylor Trible (USM) def. Carolina Hortian (CCU), 1 UP

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Women's Golf Crowned Sun Belt Tournament Champions

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Players Mentioned

Momoka Ando

Alma Betoret

Louise Cuyvers

Elena Melich

Taylor Trible