MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee women's tennis team begins their quest for a Conference USA championship Thursday when they take on Southern Mississippi in the first round in Denton, Texas. First serve is set for 9 a.m. from the Waranch Tennis Complex.

The Blue Raiders are the #10 seed while the Golden Eagles are seeded seventh. The winner of the match will take #2 Rice, Friday at 10 a.m.



MTSU and Southern Miss met earlier this season at the Adams Tennis Complex with the Southern Miss squeaking by with a 4-3 victory.

Lidia Burrows comes into the championship on a roll having won her last six straight singles matches, which included the 92^nd of her career, setting a new MTSU school record. She leads the Blue Raiders with 14 wins this spring.

Love-Star Alexis and Zani Barnard each have 10 singles wins this spring while also teaming up for six more wins in doubles. Burrows and Lee Barnard lead the team with nine doubles wins, seven of which came at the No. 1 position.

Noelle Mauro and Muskan Gupta have also been solid players for the Raiders this season as they have nine and eight singles wins, respectively. Lilly-Sophie Schmidt has also added three singles wins for MTSU this season.

With last year's championship cancelled due to Covid-19, Rice is still the defending champion, having won in 2019 for their sixth title in seven years. Old Dominion is the top seed in this year's championship and, along with Rice and FIU, are ranked in the ITA top-50.