April 1, 2009

Boone, N.C. - The Furman women's tennis team rolled to another shutout victory, defeating the Appalachian State Mountaineers, 7-0, in Southern Conference action on Wednesday afternoon. The Lady Paladins (10-7, 5-0) have shutout four of their five SoCon opponents this year and sit atop the league standings in a tie with College of Charleston. The loss dropped the Mountaineers to 6-11 overall, 1-3 in the SoCon.

Three Lady Paladins did not lose a game in their respective singles matches. Senior Lauren Tomory won her 11th consecutive match, defeating Gisela Fernandez, 6-0, 6-0 at number five. Classmate Laura Gioia earned a shutout win against ASU's Amanda Cash to improve to 12-4 on the season. Gioia, Furman's top singles player, is 28-3 against league competition during her career. Sophomore Monica Arguello also posted a 6-0, 6-0 victory, rolling by Caroline Mauch at position two.

Junior Jessica Preeg remained undefeated in league action with a straight-set win against Lindsay King at number three. Sophomore Jennifer Betts earned a 6-1, 6-0 victory against Laura Janke and freshman Susan Bitetti posted a 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-0 win over Blakeley Bean.

Furman's doubles pairs won all three matches to earn the team point. With an 8-3 win over Olivia Stannard and Gisela Fernandez, Arguello and Gioia remained unbeaten in league action. The tandem is 9-7 on the year at the number one spot.

The Lady Paladins look to continue their SoCon winning streak when they travel to Elon on Saturday, April 4 at 1 p.m. Furman has won 93 consecutive regular-season conference matches.

Furman 7, Appalachian State 0
Doubles
1. Laura Gioia/Monica Arguello (FUR) def. Olivia Stannard/Gisela Fernandez (ASU) 8-3
2. Lauren Tomory/Jennifer Betts (FUR) def. Blakeley Bean/Lindsay King (ASU) 8-1
3. Jessica Preeg/Brooke Mosteller (FUR) def. Laura Janke/Amanda Cash (ASU) 8-5
Order: 1, 2, 3

Singles
1. #15 Laura Gioia (FUR) def. Amanda Cash (ASU) 6-0, 6-0
2. #91 Monica Arguello (FUR) def. Caroline Mauch (ASU) 6-0, 6-0
3. Jessica Preeg (FUR) def. Lindsay King (ASU) 6-1, 6-2
4. Susan Bitetti (FUR) def. Blakeley Bean (ASU) 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-0
5. Lauren Tomory (FUR) def. Gisela Fernandez (ASU) 6-0, 6-0
6. Jennifer Betts (FUR) def. Laura Janke (ASU) 6-1, 6-0
Order: 2, 1, 5, 3, 4, 6