CHATTANOOGA, TENN. – No. 3 Furman avenged a regular-season loss to No. 2 Samford, downing the Bulldogs 4-2 on Saturday in the semifinals of the Southern Conference Championships at the Champions Club in Chattanooga, Tenn.  With the win, the Paladins (13-10, 5-2 SoCon) advance to the SoCon championship match for the third-consecutive year, where they will face No. 1 ETSU Sunday at 1 p.m. 

The Paladins posted wins in the top two doubles matches to secure the opening point.  Seniors Matt Browne and Ben Horst topped Leaonard Gerch and Trey Carter, 6-4, at number one, and freshman Alex Steryous and sophomore Cameron Green beat Jake Faundez and Eduardo L. Sanchez, 6-1, at flight two.  The third seeded contest was unfinished.

Samford claimed the first two singles points, as Faundez downed Alex Steryous, 6-0, 6-2, at flight six, then Gerch bested Horst, 6-4, 6-4, at number four.  Furman tied the match when Adam Steryous recorded a 6-3, 6-4 victory versus Fares Kilani in the top-seeded match, then Cameron Green's 6-4, 7-6(7-5) win over Carter gave the Paladins a 3-2 advantage.

The teams split sets at flights three and five, leaving Furman needing to win just one set to advance.  Browne clinched the win, coming from behind to beat Justin Ghavami, 6-7(5-7), 6-3, 6-4, at flight three, while the flight five match was unfinished with Furman sophomore Josh Pistorius leading Sanchez, 6-2, 5-7, 4-1.

Julie Paré, Furman Sports Information

Furman 4, Samford 2
Apr 23, 2016 at Chattanooga, Tenn. (Champions Club)