BIRMINGHAM, ALA -- No. 31 Furman powered past ETSU, 4-0, to win the Southern Conference Championship Saturday at the Hoover Met Center in Birmingham, Ala.

The title is the Paladins' fourth-consecutive and 20th overall.  With the victory, top-seeded Furman earns the SoCon's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, which will be held at regional sites beginning May 7-9., May 16-28.  The Paladins will learn their opponent during a live selection show on May 3 at 6 p.m.

Furman won the top two doubles matches to take the first point.  Senior Katarina Kozarov and junior Julia Adams, who rank 34th nationally, beat Alejandra Morales and Mayya Gorbunova, 6-1, at flight one, and 85th-ranked junior Madison Dillon and senior MaryAnn Rompf blanked Laylo Bakhodirova and Emilia Alfaro, 6-0, at number two.  Sophomore Maggie Pate and freshman Ellie Schoppe led Maria Carvajal and Andrea Pascual-Larrinaga, 4-2, at flight three. 

The Paladins won three singles in straight sets to complete the sweep.  Seventeenth-ranked Kozarov downed Bakhodirova, 6-1, 6-2, in the top-seeded match up, and Adams, who ranks 82nd, recorded a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Morales.  At flight six, Schoppe clinched the victory with a 6-4, 6-4 win against Yunuen Elizarraras. 

Matches at flights three through five were unfinished.  Dillon led Pascual-Larrinaga, 6-3, 1-6, 1-0, at number three, and Pate held a 6-2, 4-3 advantage over Carvajal at number five.  At flight four, Alfaro won set one, 6-2, but Rompf led set two, 4-3. 

The 2021 SoCon Player of the Year, Kozarov, who concludes her Paladin career undefeated versus SoCon opponents, was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player for the second-consecutive championship.  Pate was the recipient of the Pinnacle Award, which is given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team.

"Every championship run is special, but this one means something a little extra," said Furman head coach Adam Herendeen.  "This group has overcome all the uncertainty and adversity again and again, and it means a lot to be able to send our seniors out with four straight championships.  I could not be more proud of how our girls represent Furman every day, and we cannot wait for the NCAA tournament!"

#31 Furman 4, ETSU 0

Singles competition

1. #17 Katarina Kozarov (FUR) def. Laylo Bakhodirova (ETSU) 6-1, 6-2

2. #82 Julia Adams (FUR) def. Alejandra Morales (ETSU) 6-4, 6-3

3. Madison Dillon (FUR) vs. A Pascual-Larrinaga (ETSU) 6-3, 1-6, 1-0, unfinished

4. MaryAnn Rompf (FUR) vs. Emilia Alfaro (ETSU) 2-6, 4-3, unfinished

5. Maggie Pate (FUR) vs. Maria Carvajal (ETSU) 6-2, 4-3, unfinished

6. Ellie Schoppe (FUR) def. Yunuen Elizarraras (ETSU) 6-4, 6-4

Doubles competition

1. #34 Katarina Kozarov/Julia Adams (FUR) def. Alejandra Morales/Mayya Gorbunova (ETSU) 6-1

2. #85 Madison Dillon/MaryAnn Rompf (FUR) def. Laylo Bakhodirova/Emilia Alfaro (ETSU) 6-0

3. Maggie Pate/Ellie Schoppe (FUR) vs. Maria Carvajal/A Pascual-Larrinaga (ETSU) 4-2, unfinished

Match Notes: ETSU 13-10, 6-1 SoCon• Furman 21-6, 7-0 SoCon; National ranking #31

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (1,2,6)