PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. - Second-seeded South Alabama collected a 4-1 win in the 2019 Sun Belt Conference Women's Tennis Championship Match over eighth-seeded Georgia Southern on Easter Sunday, ending the Eagles' dramatic run through the tournament.

Playing in only its second conference tournament final in program history and first since 1986, the Eagles (14-13) upset top-seeded Appalachian State and fourth-seeded UT Arlington to earn a berth in the final, but the Jaguars - playing in their eighth straight Sun Belt Conference tournament final - improved to 22-4 with the win and claimed its 18th league title in the process.

"Today was a tough one for us," Georgia Southern Head Coach Sean McCaffrey said. "South Alabama deserves all of the credit. They have been such a consistent team all season, and they came in today poised and ready to take the championship. 

"I am extremely proud of my team and so encouraged by the growth they have shown all year," McCaffrey said. "It takes so much energy and effort to maintain a high degree of focus for an entire tennis season. The team really bought into our growth mindset and I am so excited to watch this program continue to get better every day. Although today we did not play our best tennis, we certainly shined a light on the things we need to work on in order to perform in big moments like today. Our goal is to fight for the conference championship every year. We have an extremely bright future ahead of us, and we are all motivated to keep getting better."

The two teams met just two weeks ago in Statesboro, with South Alabama winning a 4-2 decision at the Wallis Tennis Courts. Today, in the Peachtree City Tennis Center, the Jaguars started off quickly by earning the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles.

South Alabama then took five of six first sets in singles play. The lone Eagle to take a first set was Luisa Hrda, who then closed out a 6-1, 6-2 win over Milka Pasanen at No. 4 singles to even the score of the match at 1-1.

The Jaguars would close out the match with straight-set singles wins at the top three spots in the lineup. 

The Eagles say goodbye to three seniors who saw their collegiate careers come to an end on Sunday - All-Sun Belt Conference doubles honoree Emilia Bujan, Paige Christian and Lindsay Truscott. Georgia Southern returns seven players for the upcoming 2019-20 season.

South Alabama 4, Georgia Southern 1 
Singles competition 
1. Stiteler, Alexandria (USA) def. Arianne de Winter (GS) 7-6 (7-2), 6-1 
2. Fujioka, Yu (USA) def. Emilia Bujan (GS) 6-2, 6-1 
3. Kohoutova, Nikola (USA) def. Paula Boixader (GS) 6-2, 6-1 
4. Luisa Hrda (GS) def. Pasanen, Milka (USA) 6-1, 6-2 
5. Martins, Patricia (USA) vs. Mila Hartig (GS) 6-4, 5-2, unfinished 
6. Monsalve, Diana (USA) vs. Elizabeth Goines (GS) 6-1, 5-2, unfinished 

Doubles competition 
1. Fujioka, Yu/Pasanen, Milka (USA) vs. de Winter/Bujan (GS) 5-4, unfinished 
2. Martins, Patricia/Stiteler, Alexandria (USA) def. Boixader/Hrda (GS) 6-4 
3. Kohoutova, Nikola/Takanishi, Yurie (USA) def. Charlotte van Diemen/Lindsay Truscott (GS) 6-1 

Match Notes: Georgia Southern 14-13, 4-6 Sun Belt 
South Alabama 22-4, 8-2 Sun Belt 
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (2,4,3,1,5,6) 
2019 Sun Belt Women's Tennis Championship - Match 7