GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Furman women's tennis team completed the 2019 fall season this week at the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships in Newport Beach, Calif., and at the Seminole All-Conference Showdown in Tallahassee, Fla.
Senior Katarina Kozarov became the first Paladin to compete at the national fall championships, where she picked up a first-round win over Rebeka Mertena of Tennessee, 7-5, 6-0, before falling to Bunyawi Thamchaiwat of Oklahoma State, 6-4, 6-2.
At Florida State, sophomore Mary Hunter Hyche won three singles matches, beating Kendall Couch of South Carolina, 6-1, 6-2, then defeating Christin Hsieh of Iowa State, 6-4, 4-6, 10-8. In her final match, Hyche recorded a 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory over Wisconsin's Christina Zordani.
Freshman Maggie Pate downed South Florida's Lucia Garrigues/Melendez, 4-6, 6-10, 10-7, then defeated Mira Stegmann, 6-2, 6-4, and senior Danni Vines beat Troy's Shevita Aulana, 6-0, 6-3. Sophomore Madison Dillon topped McNeese State's Marija Mastilovic, 6-4, 6-3, while junior MaryAnn Rompf recorded a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Grace Eland of South Florida. Junior Georgie Walker held off Laura Rijkers from Arkansas, 6-0, 6-4.
In doubles action, Furman scored five wins. Rompf and Walker teamed up for a 7-6(1) advantage over Marija Mastilovic and Carlotta Romito of McNeese State then blanked Southern Miss' Monique Burton and Katia De La Gorza, 6-0. Hyche teamed with Pate to surpass Hanna Blinouskaya and Matilde Mulatero of McNeese State, 6-1, and Dillon and Vines defeated North Florida's Constanza Gorches and Kendall Nash, 7-5, then topped South Florida's Janvhi Clark and Evelyne Tiron, 6-3.
"We may not have finished the fall quite as strongly as we would have liked in either of this week's tournaments, but I am really proud of our team and there are a lot of positives we can take from this weekend," said Furman head coach Adam Herendeen. "We showed a lot of resilience and know exactly what we need to improve on before the team season gets here in January."
Furman will open the 2020 spring season on January 15 versus N.C. State in Raleigh, N.C. First serve is set for noon.
Orale ITA National Fall Championship
Katarina Kozarov (FUR) def. Rebeka Mertena (TENN), 7-5, 6-0
Bunyawi Thamchaiwat (Okla. St.) def. Katarina Kozarov (FUR), 6-4, 6-2
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Seminole All-Conference Showdown
Singles
Maggie Pate (FUR) def. Lucia Garrigues-Melendez (USF), 4-6, 6-0, 10-8
Maggie Pate (FUR) def. Mira Stegmann (FSU), 6-2, 6-4
Adelaide Lavery (TUL) def. Maggie Pate (FUR), 5-7, 6-3, 6-1
Danni Vines (FUR) def. Shevita Aulana (Troy), 6-0, 6-3
Christina Sisti (TUL) def. Danni Vines (FUR), 4-6, 6-3, 10-5
Danni Vines (FUR) def. Margarita Timakova (ISU), by walkover
Constanza Gorches (UNF) def. Danni Vines (FUR), 6-0, 6-2
Mary Hunter Hyche (FUR) def. Kendall Couch (USC), 6-1, 6-2
Mary Hunter Hyche (FUR) def. Christin Hsieh (ISU), 6-3, 4-6, 10-8
Mary Hunter Hyche (FUR) def. Christina Zordani (UW), 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
Gabriela Martinez Asensi (USC) def. Madison Dillon (FUR), 6-1, 6-2
Madison Dillon (FUR) def. Marija Mastilovic (MSU), 6-4, 6-3
Domenika Turkovic (UCF) def. Madison Dillon (FUR), 6-4, 6-3
Mackenzy Middlebrooks (CLE) def. MaryAnn Rompf (FUR), 1-6, 6-2, 10-4
Katie De La Gorza (USM) def. MaryAnn Rompf (FUR), 6-1, 6-4
MaryAnn Rompf (FUR) def. Grace Eland (USF), 6-0, 6-3
Daniela LaFuente (TUL) def. Georgie Walker (FUR), 7-5, 7-5
Georgie Walker (FUR) def. Laura Rijkers (ARK), 6-0, 6-4
Valentina Mariotto (UNF) def. Georgie Walker (FUR), 3-6, 6-4, 10-7
Doubles
Ju Hsieh/Svitlica (Troy) def. Rompf/Walker (FUR), 6-4
Rompf/Walker (FUR) def. Mastilovic/Romito (MSU), 7-6(1)Â
Rompf/Walker (FUR) def. Burton/De La Gorza (USM), 6-0
Garcia/Stegmann (FSU) def. Hyche/Pate (FUR), 6-0
Gish/Sisti (TUL) def. Hyche/Pate (FUR), 6-3
Hyche/Pate (FUR) def. Blinouskaya/Mulatero (MSU), 6-1
Dillon/Vines (FUR) def. Gorches/Nash (UNF), 7-5
Das/Salas (FSU) def. Dillon/Vines (FUR), 6-1
Dillon/Vines (FUR) def. Clark/Tiron (USF), 6-3