BIRMINGHAM, ALA. -- No. 31 Furman, the top seed in the 2021 Southern Conference Championships, blanked No. 4 seed Samford, 4-0, Friday at the Hoover met Complex in Birmingham, Ala.

With the win, Furman (20-6, 7-0 SoCon) advances to the finals of the league championships for the fourth-consecutive time.  The Paladins will square off against No. 2 seed ETSU Saturday at 4 p.m. with the winner earning the SoCon's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.

The Paladins won two doubles matches to claim the doubles point.  Junior Julia Adams and senior Katarina Kozarov, who rank 34th nationally, beat Rouxanne Janse Van Rensburg and Alexis Lopez, 6-2, at flight one, and sophomore Maggie Pate and freshman Ellie Schoppe blanked Olivia Jablonski and Samantha Nanere, 6-0, at number three.  The flight two match was unfinished, with junior Madison Dillon and senior MaryAnn Rompf, who rank 85th nationally, leading Cindy Oest and Natalia De Ugarte, 5-3.

Furman picked up wins at flights one, four, and six singles to complete the victory.  Seventeenth-ranked Kozarov bested Van Rensburg, 7-5, 6-3, at flight one, and Rompf held off Oest, 7-5, 6-4, at number four.  At flight six, Schoppe defeated Nanere, 6-0, 6-3.

The remaining three matches were unfinished, with the Paladins splitting sets in all three.  At flight two, No. 82 Adams won set one, 6-2, then De Ugarte claimed set two, 6-3.  Adam led 2-1 in set three.  Dillon dropped set one, 6-3, to Lopez at number three but rebounded with a 6-4 win in set two.  At flight five, Pate lost the first set, 5-7, versus Jablonski, then swept the second set, 6-0.

Samford falls to 14-11 with the loss.

Live results from Saturday's championship final will be available at www.furmanpaladins.com.

#31 Furman 4, Samford 0

Singles competition

1. #17 Katarina Kozarov (FUR) def. R. Van Rensburg (SAM) 7-5, 6-3

2. #82 Julia Adams (FUR) vs. Natalia De Ugarte (SAM) 6-2, 3-6, 2-1, unfinished

3. Madison Dillon (FUR) vs. Alexis Lopez (SAM) 3-6, 6-4, unfinished

4. MaryAnn Rompf (FUR) def. Cindy Oest (SAM) 7-5, 6-4

5. Maggie Pate (FUR) vs. Olivia Jablonski (SAM) 5-7, 6-0, unfinished

6. Ellie Schoppe (FUR) def. Samantha Nanere (SAM) 6-0, 6-3

Doubles competition

1. #34 Julia Adams/Katarina Kozarov (FUR) def. R. Van Rensburg/Alexis Lopez (SAM) 6-2

2. #85 Madison Dillon/MaryAnn Rompf (FUR) vs. Cindy Oest/Natalia De Ugarte (SAM) 5-3, unfinished

3. Maggie Pate/Ellie Schoppe (FUR) def. Olivia Jablonski/Samantha Nanere (SAM) 6-0

Match Notes: Samford 14-11 • Furman 20-6; National ranking #31

Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (6,4,1)