STATESBORO - The Georgia Southern women's tennis team opens up action in the 2021 Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Friday, taking on ULM in Quarterfinal action at 2 p.m. from the Peachtree Tennis Center in Peachtree City, Ga.

The Eagles are the No. 2 seed from the East Division and take on the No. 3 seed from the west, ULM, who defeated the No. 6 seed from the East, Georgia State, 4-1, in first-round action on Thursday.

Two years ago, Georgia Southern made history by advancing to the 2019 Sun Belt Tournament Championship match as a No. 8 seed. The Eagles upended top-seeded Appalachian State and fourth-seeded UT Arlington to get to the final. Last year, the COVID-19 shutdown robbed the Eagles of a chance to collect that first Sun Belt title. But Head Coach Sean McCaffrey believes that 2021 could be the year for the Eagles.

"The way i see it, we are a team that nobody wants to see on their side of the bracket," Coach McCaffrey said. "Our team had their sights set on the title from the very beginning, and there's a path to that now. That path may not have been as visible a month and a half ago, but the path is becoming clearer and clearer, and they know it's within their reach."

On March 20th, the Eagles lost a 7-0 decision at South Alabama that dropped Georgia Southern to 8-8 overall and 1-3 in the Sun Belt. Since then, Georgia Southern has reeled off eight straight wins, the longest win streak for Eagle women's tennis since 1996. Included in those wins was a 4-3 victory over South Alabama that helped Georgia Southern clinch the No. 2 seed from the East.

"When we were 8-8, we all still thought we could do it," Coach McCaffrey said. "Winning the matches we have has gradually brought the team closer and closer together. All of the things we talked to the team about, even when things weren't going our way in the middle of the season, was about peaking. I knew we would peak around March 15th. When we had the COVID-19 break, it set us back a week. But we really hit our stride on March 22nd. I feel like we're in a good place. Mentally, the team is in a good place because they've trusted the process, and it's paying dividends now. There's still work to be done, though, and they know that."

Coach McCaffrey and the Eagles have made their mark on the history books this season at several points, and with this tournament, there's an opportunity for even more. The school record for wins in a single season is 17, set by the 1980 squad. And a Sun Belt Tournament championship would be the first for the team and the first Conference Tournament championship of any kind since the 1995 & 1996 teams won back-to-back SoCon titles, when it was a flighted format.

"Two years ago, I don't think they knew that the title was within their reach," Coach McCaffrey said. "We still have that mindset that we have to take things one match at a time, but they can see it this year. They know it's visible. It's something they can touch, it's right there and they just need to work a little bit harder to get there."

View the complete 2021 Sun Belt Conference Women's Tennis Tournament bracket here, which includes links to live streaming coverage on ESPN+ and live stats through Tennis Ticker.