MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- No. 31 Arizona defeated Furman, 4-2, Friday in the opening round of the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic, which is being held this weekend in Montgomery, Ala.

Due to a delay caused by inclement weather, the first round of the tournament began with singles play.  All matches at the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic will be decided when one team clinches the match with four points.

The Wildcats (10-3) won four of the six singles matches to clinch the win, but the Paladins scored victories at flights four and six and forced close matches at flights one and two.  At flight four, sophomore Sara Snyder beat Kayla Wilkins, 7-5, 6-3, and freshman Luca Victoria Vocke edged out Parker Fry, 6-4, 7-6(6), at number six.  

Salma Ziouti held off sophomore Ellie Schulson, 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3, in the top-seeded match up, and Midori Castillo-Meza topped sophomore Marissa Pennings, 7-6(5), 7-5, at flight two.  At flight three, Reece Carter downed sophomore Jess Dawson, 6-1, 6-1, and Tanvi Narendran recorded a 6-2, 6-2 win over senior Madison Dillon at number five.

The Paladins (4-7, 2-0 SoCon) then faced No. 58 Yale in doubles, where Furman won two of three matches to claim the point.  The Bulldogs' Rhea Shrivistava and Vivian Cheng slipped past 51st-ranked Dawson and Snyder, 6-4, at flight one, and Dillon and Vocke posted a 6-4 advantage over Jamie Kim and Rebecca Lynn at flight three.  In the decisive flight two contest, Pennings and Schulson held off Ann Wright Guerry and Sophia Zaslo, 6-1, for the point. 

Furman will conclude the match versus Yale beginning at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday morning then will square off against either Tulsa or Alabama later in the day.
 

Furman vs #31 University of Arizona • 02/24/2023 • at Montgomery, Ala. (Lagoon Park)

#31 University of Arizona 4, Furman 2

Singles competition

1. Salma Ziouti (ARIZ) def. Ellie Schulson (FUR) 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-3

2. Midori Castillo-Meza (ARIZ) def. Marissa Pennings (FUR) 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 

3. Reece Carter (ARIZ) def. Jess Dawson (FUR) 6-1, 6-1

4. Sara Snyder (FUR) def. Kayla Wilkins (ARIZ) 7-5, 6-3

5. Tanvi Narendran (ARIZ) def. Madison Dillon (FUR) 6-2, 6-2

6. Luca Victoria Vocke (FUR) def. Parker Fry (ARIZ) 6-4, 7-6 (8-6)

Doubles competition

1. Parker Fry/Salma Ziouti (ARIZ) vs. #51 Jess Dawson/Sara Snyder (FUR) unfinished

2. Reece Carter/Kayla Wilkins (ARIZ) vs. Marissa Pennings/Ellie Schulson (FUR) unfinished

3. Belen Nevenhoven/Midori Castillo-Meza (ARIZ) vs. Madison Dillon/Luca Victoria Vocke (FUR) unfinished

Match Notes:

Furman 4-7 • University of Arizona 10-3; National ranking #31

Order of finish: Doubles (); Singles (3,5,4,6,2,1)