Men’s Tennis Falls to No. 2 Troy in Sun Belt Quarterfinals

Thursday, April 16

Rome, Ga.

Southern Miss

Sun Belt Conference

Men’s Tennis Falls to No. 2 Troy in Sun Belt Quarterfinals

4/17/2026 9:12:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

ROME, Ga. – Southern Miss (8-12, 1-4 SBC) saw its season come to a close Friday afternoon with a 4-1 loss to No. 2 seed Troy (21-4, 2-0 SBC) in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at the Rome Tennis Center.

Troy claimed the doubles point with wins on courts two and three to take an early 1-0 lead. Kale Mize and Julius Bult fell 6-2 at No. 2 doubles, while Jay Temming and Eric Perkowski dropped a 6-3 decision on court three. The No. 1 doubles match featuring Saheb Sodhi and Jose Murariu was left unfinished at 5-5.

The Trojans added three singles wins to secure the team result, picking up straight-set victories on courts six, four and five. Olle Noltorp fell 6-1, 6-1 at No. 6 singles, while Perkowski dropped a 6-1, 6-3 decision on court four. Julius Bult battled in his match before falling 7-5, 6-0 at No. 5 to clinch the match for Troy.

Southern Miss' point came from Sodhi at No. 3 singles. The senior delivered a strong performance, earning a 6-3, 6-4 straight-set victory to continue his strong finish to the season.

Despite the loss, the 2026 season marked a significant step forward for the Golden Eagles. Southern Miss finished undefeated at home for the first time in program history and competed against one of the most challenging schedules in recent years, including four Power 4 opponents. The Golden Eagles also earned two Sun Belt Player of the Week honors, the first in program history, while Sodhi and Murariu each posted winning records in singles play.

Southern Miss also found success against top competition throughout the season, with Kale Mize, Murariu and Sodhi each earning singles victories over Power 4 opponents. In doubles, Sodhi and Perkowski reached as high as No. 40 in the ITA national rankings, marking the highest ranking for a doubles pair in program history.

Head coach Zubin Engineer emphasized the growth of the program following the match.

"Overall it was a very positive turnaround season," Engineer said. "The team was highly competitive and played a strong schedule."

The Golden Eagles showed steady improvement throughout the spring, building depth across the lineup and gaining experience in close matches that positioned the program for continued growth moving forward.