DURHAM, N.C. -- No. 29 Old Dominion blanked No. 36 Furman, 5-0, in the opening round of the NCAA Championships Friday at Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center in Durham, N.C.

The Monarchs won two of three doubles matches to claim point one.  Yuliia Starodubtseva and Tatsiana Sasnouskaya, who rank eighth nationally, defeated 34th-ranked senior Julia Adams and sophomore Ellie Schoppe, 6-2, at flight one, and Paladin freshmen Sara Snyder and Jess Dawson beat Alexandra Viktorovich and Sofia Johnson, 6-3, at flight three to even the slate.  In the decisive flight two contest, Alesya Yakubovich and Shahar Biran overcame a 5-3 deficit to win, 7-5, over junior Madison Dillon and freshman Ellie Schulson for the point.

In singles, Old Dominion scored four points for the victory.  No. 18 Starodubtseva topped 38th-ranked Adams, 6-2, 6-3, at number one, and 110th-ranked Sasnouskaya downed Schoppe, 6-3, 6-1, at flight two.  At number three, Marina Alcaide posted a 6-2, 6-2 advantage versus Dillon, and at number five, Yakubovich recorded a 6-1, 6-3, win over Schulson. 

Matches at flights four and six were unfinished.  Furman's Snyder won the first set, 6-2, at flight four, and Johnson took set two, 6-3.  At flight six, Biran took the first set, 6-4, but Dawson won, 6-3, in the second set.  

"Old Dominion came out and played incredibly," said Furman head coach Adam Herendeen.  "This is not the match we expected, but they played really, really well and made it harder for us, and I don't think we ever really recovered from the doubles.  We had some match points in doubles, and we gave those a lot of energy.  Old Dominion came out and played as well as they could play, and unfortunately, we didn't play very well.  I give credit to them, they deserve it.

"Our players who are going to play in the NCAA individual singles and doubles tournament lost both matches today," continued Herendeen.  "We haven't been pushed in a while at those spots, so it is a good learning experience for our players to see where the level needs to be.  We have a couple of weeks to get there, so we will definitely be more ready and play better when we get to Champaign."

Furman (21-7) claimed the Southern Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament by capturing its 21st SoCon Championship and made its 14th appearance in the NCAA tournament.  

First Round - 2022 NCAA Women's Tennis Team Championships

Furman vs Old Dominion • 5/6/2022 at Durham, N.C. • Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center

#29 Old Dominion 5, #36 Furman 0

Singles competition

1. #18 Yuliia Starodubtseva (ODU) def. #38 Julia Adams (FUR) 6-2, 6-3

2. #110 Tatsiana Sasnouskaya (ODU) def. Ellie Schoppe (FUR) 6-3, 6-1

3. Marina Alcaide (ODU) def. Madison Dillon (FUR) 6-2, 6-2

4. Sofia Johnson (ODU) vs. Sara Snyder (FUR) 2-6, 6-3, unfinished

5. Alesya Yakubovich (ODU) def. Ellie Schulson (FUR) 6-1, 6-3

6. Shahar Biran (ODU) vs. Jess Dawson (FUR) 6-4, 3-6, unfinished

Doubles competition

1. #8 Yuliia Starodubtseva/Tatsiana Sasnouskaya (ODU) def. #34 Julia Adams/Ellie Schoppe (FUR) 6-2

2. Alesya Yakubovich/Shahar Biran (ODU) def. Madison Dillon/Ellie Schulson (FUR) 7-5

3. Sara Snyder/Jess Dawson (FUR) def. Alexandra Viktorovich/Sofia Johnson (ODU) 6-3

Match Notes: Furman 21-7; National ranking #36 • Old Dominion 21-6; National ranking #29

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,3,1,5)

T-2:35 A-80