>Opponent: 
Salem at Southern Virginia | April 23 | First Round—USA South Conference Tournament | Buena Vista, Va. | 3 p.m. 

>SPIRITS CLASH WITH SOUTHERN VIRGINIA IN USA SOUTH TOURNAMENT OPENER
Salem tennis will go head-to-head with Southern Virginia for the second time in a two-week span on Wednesday, April 23rd, when the two teams meet in Buena Vista, Va. The sixth-seeded Spirits and third-seeded Southern Virginia are facing off to see who will face Pfeiffer on Friday, April 25th in the semifinal round of the USA South Conference Tournament. 

>SALEM MAKES THIRD CONSECUTIVE TRIP TO USA SOUTH CONFERENCE TOURNEY
The Salem tennis team makes its third appearance in as many seasons in the USA South Conference Tournament on Wednesday afternoon. 

In 2023, Salem made its first appearance as a USA South Conference affiliated program before falling to N.C. Wesleyan, breaking a seven-year league tournament drought when they earned a spot in the league tournament. The 2024 campaign came to an end for the Spirits with a setback to Methodist in Fayetteville, N.C. 

The invitation to the 2025 USA South Conference Tournament marks the 11th time in the 16-year history of the tennis program that the Spirits have played in a postseason match in a league tournament.

The Spirits, who competed in the Great South Athletic Conference from 2009-2016, made their first-ever conference tournament in 2012 when they clashed with Maryville. The first postseason win came two years later, in 2014, as Salem downed Trinity (D.C.) by a score of 5-1. That was followed by a win over Agnes Scott the following afternoon, by the same 5-1 margin, but the bid for the league crown came to an end with a 5-0 setback to UC-Santa Cruz.

In 2016, the Spirits posted a 5-0 win against Wesleyan (Ga.) on April 29th before falling later that same day to UC-Santa Cruz by a 5-0 margin.

SALEM ALL-TIME CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT HISTORY

Date	Year	Opponent	Result	Salem	Opp.
A20	2012	vs. Maryville	L	0	5
A27	2013	vs. Huntingdon	L	0	5
A25	2014	vs. Trinity (D.C.)	W	5	1
A26	2014	vs. Agnes Scott	W	5	1
A27	2014	vs. UC-Santa Cruz	L	0	5
A24	2015	vs. Mills	W	5	0
A25	2015	vs. Agnes Scott	L	1	5
A29	2016	vs. Wesleyan (Ga.)	W	5	0
A29	2016	vs. UC-Santa Cruz	L	0	5
A25	2023	at N.C. Wesleyan	L	0	5
A23	2024	at Methodist	L	0	5

>STEELE ENJOYING SUCCESS ON THE COURT
Salem head coach Ed Steele has not only guided his team to the USA South Conference Tournament for a third consecutive season, but he has posted at least four wins for the eighth time in a nine-year stretch. The only time that Steele didn't reach the four-win mark came in a COVID-shortened 2020 spring slate, where his team was 3-1 overall. 

Steele, who is the program's all-time winningest coach with 44 wins to his credit, including 22 in conference play, is the only coach in Salem history to reach the postseason conference tournament on four occasions. 

>SALEM CAPS OFF REGULAR SEASON WITH VICTORY OVER JOHNSON & WALES
Salem's Abrielle Eckenroth capped off her final match at the Bert Lain Tennis Courts by accounting for two victories as the Spirits posted a 6-1 win over Johnson & Wales on Saturday afternoon. 

The match will serve as a tune-up for the Spirits, who head to the USA South Conference Tournament next week for the third consecutive season. 

Salem claimed its first point in doubles after the tandem of Adley Keim and Cymone Crump handed the Wildcats' pair of Hannah Christiansen and Kourtney Newton a 6-0 loss for their ninth doubles win of the slate. Daisy Ortiz Mendoza and Chloe Koons were also successful in their doubles contest, earning a 6-4 win and the clinching point over Ivana Barber and Kirsten Cannon. 

Eckenroth and teammate Mariana Faint helped Salem complete the doubles sweep, 6-1, by virtue of victory against Payton Abrams and Mandy Marth. 

Crump delivered the second Salem point in singles play after a 6-0, 6-1 win over Newton. Johnson & Wales came through with its lone point of the afternoon in sixth-seeded singles as Marth handed Jessea James a 6-2, 6-0 setback. 

Faint responded with the third Salem point, taking down Abrams in No. 3 singles by scores of 6-1, 6-3. Keim continued her dominance as the No. 1 seed, posting her seventh win of the season over Christensen by scores of 6-1, 7-5. 

Eckenroth picked up her second point of the afternoon in singles, emerging with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Barber. The sixth and final point for the Spirits came from Mendoza, who claimed a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Cannon in No. 4 action. 

>JOCKEYING FOR WINS FOR THE SPIRITS 
As Salem enters the week looking for its first postseason win since defeating Wesleyan (Ga.) by a 5-0 margin on April 29, 2016, the Spirits have three players with at least five singles win in 2025. 

The winningest singles player in 2025 for the Spirits has been first year standout Cymone Crump, who has eight wins to her credit. Sophomore teammate Adley Keim is second with seven, while Mariana Faint has claimed six singles victories this season.  

Crump moved into fifth-place on Salem's all-time winningest No. 2 singles players with her two-set victory against Kourtney Newton (Johnson & Wales) on Saturday. The Middletown, N.Y., native tied Summer Whitener for third-most singles wins in a career with five as the second seed. 

Keim has also sustained her success from a season ago, moving to second in Salem history in all-time No. 1 singles play with 13 victories after her seventh win of the 2025 campaign, which came over Hannah Christiansen (Johnson & Wales) on Saturday. Keim needs five wins as a No. 1 seed to equal McKenna Mason (2016-19), who closed her career with 18 No. 1 wins, and seven to tie the program record of 20, established by Andrea Akers (2013-16). 

Faint returned to the court to claim her sixth singles win of the season, moving her to 6-6 overall and 5-3 in No. 3 singles action. Faint has 13 singles wins in her Salem career as both a No. 2 and No. 3 seed. 

Crump and Keim share the distinction of being the top doubles tandem for Salem in 2025. The two are 9-3 on the season, all as the No. 1 seed, and are 4-2 when facing USA South Conference units. 

Following a 6-0 win over the tandem of Christiansen and Newton (Johnson & Wales) Crump and Keim are now tied with the tandem of Andrea Akers and Ayla Pruitt, who were 9-5 as a unit, for the most No. 1 doubles wins in Spirits history. 

>SCOUTING REPORT: SOUTHERN VIRGINIA
All-Time Series Record vs. Southern Virginia: Knights lead series 7-0. 

Southern Virginia owns a 7-0 advantage in the head-to-head series between the two programs. The Knights have won two of those at home, both in 9-0 fashion, which came on September 21, 2019 and April 10, 2024. 

The third-seeded Knights closed out the regular season with an 8-6 overall record and were 5-2 in the USA South Conference standings. After putting together a three-match winning streak, which including triumphs over Methodist (5-2), Salem (6-1) and Johnson & Wales (7-0), the Knights dropped back-to-back matches against Pfeiffer (5-2) and N.C. Wesleyan (7-0). 

Southern Virginia ended the regular season with slim 4-3 win over Brevard on April 19th. 

LAST TIME OUT (vs. Knights | April 9): Salem's Emily Buckler claimed the first singles win of her collegiate career in a 6-1 setback to USA South Conference rival Southern Virginia at the Bert Lain Tennis Center on Wednesday afternoon. 

Buckler grabbed her victory over Hailey Seamon in No. 6 singles, battling back from an opening set loss to win 4-6, 6-0, 10-7. Teammates Mariana Faint and Abrielle Eckenroth also came through with a win against the Knights, earning a 6-1 victory over Natalia Molanphy and Elizabeth Ursenbach in No. 3 doubles, allowing Salem to be in the hunt for the doubles point. 

However, Jillian Arnold and Lydia Delich evened doubles play with a 6-0 win over Daisy Ortiz Mendoza and Chloe Koons. With the point on the line, Salem's Adley Keim and Cymone Crump battled with Paula Snelson and Remly Fry before falling by a 7-5 margin in No. 1 doubles. 

Snelson followed that up by claiming the 6-0, 6-1 win versus Keim in No. 1 singles. Molanphy overcame an opening set loss in No. 5 singles to give the Knights a 3-0 lead with a win over Crump. 

The Knights clinched the team win with a 6-1, 7-5 victory by Fry, who downed Koons in No. 4 action. Meanwhile, Arnold handed Faint a 6-3, 6-4 loss in No. 3 play, moving the Knights' lead to 5-0. The sixth point for Southern Virginia came from Delich, who fought past Crump by scores of 4-6, 6-3 and 10-4.