April 19, 2008

Agate

CHARLESTON, S.C. - The 68th-ranked Furman women's tennis team defeated Elon 4-0 on Saturday to advance to the finals of the Southern Conference tournament.

Furman earned the early point with wins at number two and three doubles. At flight two, the team of Lauren Osborne and Monica Arguello defeated Paige Kensroe and Whitney Butcher 8-2, while the Paladin tandem of Lauren Tomory and Jessica Preeg topped Jenn Tucci and Hayley Wahl 8-4.

In singles play, Furman won three hard-fought matches in a row to finish the match. At number one singles, junior Laura Gioia defeated Deanna Bailey 6-3, 6-3. Jessica Preeg topped Hayley Wahl 6-0, 6-2 in flight four, and senior Natasha Manojlovic clinched the match for the Paladins with a 6-0, 7-6 win at flight six.

With the win, the Paladins improve to 18-5 on the season, while Elon finishes the year with a 15-10 record.

The Paladins will face the winner of #2 College of Charleston and #3 Davidson in the final match of the 2008 Southern Conference Tournament, scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 20.