GREENVILLE, S.C. -- In the battle of the Southern Conference's unbeaten teams, Furman downed ETSU, 4-3, Saturday at the Mickel Tennis Center in Greenville, S.C., to claim the Southern Conference regular season title.  

With the win, Furman (11-11, 7-0 SoCon) earned the No. 1 seed in next weekend's league tournament.  The title, which is the Paladins' seventh straight, is Furman's 26th overall.  The Paladins will play No. 8 UNCG Thursday at 1 p.m. in the opening round of the conference championships, which will be held at Champions Club in Chattanooga, Tenn.

ETSU drops to 16-7 overall and 6-1 in the SoCon and will be the No. 2 seed in the championship tournament.

With the score tied at 3-all, sophomore Jess Dawson came from behind after losing the first set, 6-3, to defeat Emilia Alfaro, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(8-6), in a thrilling third-set tiebreaker at flight four singles.  

The Paladins picked up two doubles wins to take the first point.  Sophomores Jess Dawson and Sara Snyder, who rank 71st nationally, beat Laylo Bakhodirova and Mariya Shumeika, 6-3, at flight one, and senior Madison Dillon and freshman Luca Victoria Vocke blanked Emilia Alfaro and Yunuen Elizarraras, 6-0, at number three.  The Bucs won at flight two, where Maria Fernanda Carvajal and Daniela Rivera slipped past sophomores Marissa Pennings and Ellie Schulson, 6-4. 

In other singles action, Furman scored at flights two and six, before ETSU tallied wins at flights three and five to tie the match and set up the decisive flight four contest.  At flight two, Pennings battled through at injury to defeat Shumeika, 6-2, 6-4, and at flight six, Vocke held off Ralitsa Alexandrova, 7-6(0), 6-1. 

The Bucs' Carvajal came from behind to down Snyder, 3-6 ,6-3, 6-2, at number three, and Rivera topped Dillon, 6-1, 6-2, at flight five. 

"There is nothing better as a coach than seeing the joy on your players faces as they accomplish a team goal," said Furman head coach Michelle Dasso, who is in her first year at the helm of the Paladin program.  "We are full of Furman pride and are so grateful for the countless people that have helped us along this journey.  The team faced many challenges this season and they chose to remain committed to the process.

"We did a fantastic job of setting the tone early in doubles and scraped and clawed our way to four points by stepping up in tense moments," continued Dasso.  "ETSU is a very strong team and well coached.  We will stay humble and hungry, as we know they will be gunning for us next week in the SoCon tournament.  We are going to enjoy this accomplishment as it is a big honor but get back to work on Monday.  My assistants, Kelly Chen and Jessica Ho, played an enormous role in our success and kept urging our squad to play with poise and passion all season.  Lastly, a huge thank you to the Furman family for coming out to support us today."

ETSU vs Furman • 04/15/2023 at Greenville, S.C. • Mickel Tennis Center

Furman 4, ETSU 3

Singles competition

1. Laylo Bakhodirova (ETSU) def. Ellie Schulson (FUR) 7-6 (8-6), 6-0

2. Marissa Pennings (FUR) def. Mariya Shumeika (ETSU) 6-2, 6-4

3. Maria Fernanda Carvajal (ETSU) def. Sara Snyder (FUR) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2

4. Jess Dawson (FUR) def. Emilia Alfaro (ETSU) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6)

5. Daniela Rivera (ETSU) def. Madison Dillon (FUR) 6-1, 6-2

6. Luca Victoria Vocke (FUR) def. Ralitsa Alexandrova (ETSU) 7-6 (7-0), 6-1

Doubles competition

1. #71 Jess Dawson/Sara Snyder (FUR) def. Laylo Bakhodirova/Mariya Shumeika (ETSU) 6-3

2. Maria Fernanda Carvajal/Daniela Rivera (ETSU) def. Marissa Pennings/Ellie Schulson (FUR) 6-4

3. Madison Dillon/Luca Victoria Vocke (FUR) def. Emilia Alfaro/Yunuen Elizarraras (ETSU) 6-0

Match Notes: ETSU 16-7, 6-1 • Furman 11-11, 7-0

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

T-3:51