PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. - The No. 4-seeded Georgia Southern women's tennis team advanced to the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Women's Tennis quarterfinals with a 4-0 victory over No. 13-seed Southern Miss on Wednesday morning in Peachtree City.

The Eagles (18-5) will now advance to face No. 5 seed Appalachian State - 4-1 winners over No. 14 seed Georgia State - in a quarterfinal match on Thursday morning at 10 a.m. Southern Miss sees its season come to a close with a 7-12 mark.

Georgia Southern took the doubles point from the Golden Eagles as All-Conference doubles duo Silvia Martinez and Liv Ryan defeated Alyssa Richter and Ebry Zeynep Yazgan, 6-1, at No. 1 doubles. Sonja Keranen and Ana Tsitavets then overcame a 5-1 deficit at No. 2 doubles, winning six straight games to take the match, 7-5, and clinch the point.

The Eagles won the first set in five of six matches to start singles play. Tsitavets picked up a quick 6-1, 6-1 win over Richter at No. 2 singles, then Nanaka Kijima delivered a 6-0, 6-4 win over Suhana das at No. 1 singles. Martinez then clinched the victory with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Yazgan at No. 1 singles.

"I feel like we did we a really good job today," Georgia Southern Head Women's Tennis Coach Sean McCaffrey said. "Doubles really set the tone. Liv and Silvi showed why they are such a tough team. They handled their match and have some breathing room to the team with their win. Ana and Sonja had faced a 5-1 deficit and it simply did not look promising. I had to remind them to slow things down and just find a way to stay on the court. Partly to give Ninon and Lindsay a chance to do their work, but also in order to maybe find a way to sneak back into their match. Which they did. We will need to be mindful that we need to be efficient with how we play points. Especially at this point in the season.

"In singles we showed that it's more about finding ways to have your opponent feel uncomfortable," McCaffrey said. "And taking five first sets rather quickly, definitely showed that. Ana was really tough and ultimately untouchable in singles. Nanaka did a great job against a girl she struggled with earlier in the season. Which just goes to show our girls are doing a fantastic job of learning from previous seasons experiences. Silvi and Nana did a really good job of finishing out their matches so that Southern Miss never had the chance to get on the board. Now we take care of our bodies and minds and prepare for a very very solid App State squad."

Results
Singles
Silvia Martinez (GS) def. Ebry Zeynep Yazgan (USM) 6-4, 6-3
Ana Tsitavets (GS) def. Alyssa Richter (USM) 6-1, 6-1
Nanaka Kijima (GS) def. Suhana Das (USM) 6-0, 6-4
Lindsay Tulenko (GS) and Zenn Lim (USM) 6-3, 3-3, unfinished
Ninon Martinache (GS) and Maddison Ricardo (USM) 6-2, 4-6, 0-1, unfinished
Paula Hijos (GS) and Hannah Chambers (USM) 1-6, 6-4, unfinished
Nanaka Kijima (GS) def. Alexia Alvarez (GSU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-4

Doubles
Silvia Martinez/Liv Ryan (GS) def. Alyssa Richter/Ebry Zeynep Yazgan (USM) 6-1
Sonja Keranen/Ana Tsitavets (GS) def. Maddison Ricardo/Clara Tardivel (USM) 7-5
Suhana Das/Zenn Lim (USM) def. Ninon Martinache/Lindsay Tulenko (GS) 6-4