ROME, Ga. – Two members of the Salem tennis team were recognized by the USA South Athletic Conference on Wednesday when it announced All-Conference performers for the 2024-25 campaign. Salem's Adley Keim was named Second Team All-Conference while teammate Daisy Ortiz Mendoza garnered All-Sportsmanship Team honors. 

Keim earned Second Team All-Conference accolades for the second time in as many seasons. She joins Andrea Akers as the only players to grab All-Conference honors on multiple occasions during their collegiate career as a Spirit. Akers, who was the first Spirit to achieve that distinction, did so in 2014 and 2016, when Salem was a member of the Great South Athletic Conference. 

Keim ended her sophomore season with a 7-7 mark in singles play in the regular season, claiming all victories as the No. 1 seed for Salem. Five of her seven triumphs came in two sets and three of those came versus USA South Conference opponents. 

Keim began her season with a three-set victory over Ashley Belnap (Guilford) on September 22, 2024. The following weekend, she took down Pfeiffer's Haley Ingenito, a first-team All-Conference selection, in a non-conference clash by scores of 7-6 (9-7), 5-7, 1-0 (10-8). 

Keim's first win of the spring competition came against Peja Cruise (Hollins) on March 7th by scores of 6-0, 6-2. She followed that by claiming a 6-0, 6-0 win against Gretchen Lutz (Mary Baldwin) on March 18th. 

Keim, who was 3-3 in April singles play, opened the month with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Ellie Osborne (Meredith). Two days later, in a clash with Brevard's Hannah Hersh, Keim prevailed by scores of 6-3, 6-1. The Elkhart, Ind., native closed out the regular season with a non-conference win over Hannah Christiansen (Johnson & Wales) with a 6-1, 7-5 victory. 

Keim was also dominant for the Spirits in doubles action alongside teammate Cymone Crump. The pair share the distinction of being the top doubles tandem for Salem in 2025. The two closed the regular season with a 9-3 mark, all as the No. 1 seed, and were 4-2 when facing USA South Conference units.

Following a 6-0 win over the tandem of Christiansen and Kourtney Newton (Johnson & Wales), Crump and Keim tied 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.

The first of their nine wins came in the fall against the Winston-Salem State tandem of Brooke Higgins and Semmie Moore, who they downed in 6-0 fashion. They ended the fall slate with a 7-5 win over Pfeiffer's Alison Sloop and Megan Rekieta. 

When Salem returned to the courts in the spring, Keim and Crump opened with three straight wins as they defeated No. 1 pairs from Hollins (6-3), Mary Baldwin (6-0) and Methodist (7-5). 

Keim and Crump were 4-2 in April, opening with wins over Ellie Osborne and Claire Southern (Meredith) as well as Hannah Hersh and Sophie Trantham (Brevard). The final two regular season victories came over Piedmont (6-4) and Johnson & Wales (6-0). 

Mendoza becomes the seventh different Spirit to be named as a member of the All-Sportsmanship unit. She joins Lindsay Young (2017), Abigail Williams (2018), Alyssa Cosentino (2019), Haley Gilley (2022), Alyson Gammons (2023) and Jessea James (2024) as previous winners of the award. 

Mendoza, who is in her first year at Salem, came through with three singles wins and four doubles wins in 2024-25. All three of her singles victories came as Salem's No. 4 seed. Mendoza paired with four different teammates, including Samantha Smiley, Mariana Faint, Emily Buckler and Chloe Koons in doubles action. Her most success came alongside Koons, as the pair was 4-5 as the No. 2 seed. 

Mendoza's first collegiate win came on March 7th when she took down Rachel Hull (Hollins) by scores of 6-0, 7-6 (6-3). She followed that by posting a league victory against Gabrielle Wyatt (Mary Baldwin) by scores of 6-3, 6-1. Mendoza claimed her final victory as Salem's fourth seed came in 7-5, 6-2 fashion over Kirsten Cannon (Johnson & Wales). 

Opening the spring season alongside Koons, the pair delivered 6-0 wins over Sash Mingo and Rachel Hull (Hollins) as well as Lauren Byrnes and Gabrielle Wyatt (Mary Baldwin) in early March. 

The third doubles triumph came as a result of a 7-5 win over Cate Reilly and Hannah Jo Jablonski (Meredith) on April 6th. Koons and Mendoza capped off the final match of the regular season with a 6-4 doubles triumph against Ivana Barber and Kirsten Cannon (Johnson & Wales).