GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Furman women's tennis team had four players earn SoCon postseason accolades, as announced today by the league office. Postseason balloting was conducted by the league's head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes.
Sophomore Ellie Schulson was selected to the All-SoCon first team for singles, while sophomores Jess Dawson and Sara Snyder were named to the first team for doubles. Freshman Luca Victoria Vocke was honored with an All-SoCon second team citation at flight six singles and was named to the SoCon All-Freshman Team.
Schulson, a native of Newburyport, Mass., went 5-2 in the league at flight one singles, recording victories over UNCG, Western Carolina, Wofford, Chattanooga, and Samford. At the Debbie Southern Furman Fall Classic, she defeated players from Ohio State, Wake Forest, and Vanderbilt to win her flight championship, and she reached the round of 8 at the ITA Carolinas Regional.
In doubles action, Dawson and Snyder have been consistently ranked throughout the season and currently sit at 67th nationally. The Paladin duo is 11-9 overall for the spring season and 6-1 in the league, with key non-conference victories over Tennessee and the Wake Forest doubles team of Anna Brylin and Brooke Killingsworth, who ranked tenth nationally when the two teams squared off.
Vocke, who hails from Munich, Bavaria, posted a 10-5 overall record and was a perfect 6-0 in SoCon matches, playing primarily at flight six. She scored a 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) win at flight six singles versus No. 31 Arizona at the Blue Gray Tournament and won at flight five singles versus Yale. Vocke is Furman's 20th selection to the SoCon All-Freshman team since the honor was instituted in 2009 and the fifth in the last three seasons.
The 2023 Southern Conference Women's Tennis Championship begins Thursday in Chattanooga, Tenn. Furman (11-11, 7-0 SoCon) enters the tournament as the No. 1 seed and will square off against eighth-seeded UNC Greensboro Thursday at 1 p.m. in the opening round of the tournament. The Paladins defeated the Spartans, 7-0, earlier this season to take a 27-3 lead in the series. Live results will be available at https://soconsports.com/.
2023 Southern Conference Player of the Year
Laylo Bakhodirova, Sr., ETSU
2023 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year
Isabella Sambola, Western Carolina
2023 Southern Conference Coach of the Year
Ricky Rojas, ETSU
2023 Southern Conference Sportsmanship Award
Breda Brennan, So., Wofford
2023 All-Southern Conference Women's Tennis
First team
Singles
Laylo Bakhodirova, ETSU
Fernanda Carvajal, ETSU
Ellie Schulson, Furman
Teodora Ristic, Mercer
Mary Weston Courville, Mercer
Alexis Lopez, Samford
Doubles
Laylo Bakhodirova/Mariya Shumeika, ETSU
Fernanda Carvajal/Daniela Rivera, ETSU
Jess Dawson/Sara Snyder, Furman
Mary Weston Courville/Teodora Ristic, Mercer
Second team
Singles (by position)
No. 1 – Jessie Young, Chattanooga
No. 2 – Breda Brennan, Wofford
No. 3 – Brianna Wilbur, Wofford
No. 4 – Rozalie Dohnalova, Chattanooga
No. 5 – Daniela Rivera, ETSU
No. 6 – Luca Victoria Vocke, Furman
Doubles
No. 1 – Caroline Gibbens/Jessie Young, Chattanooga
No. 2 – Rozalie Dohnalova/Lucia Melendez, Chattanooga
No. 3 – Jade Groen/Andrea Redondo, Western Carolina
All-Freshman
Luca Victoria Vocke, Furman
Marina de Diego Quinones, Mercer
Cameron Rogin, Samford
Jade Groen, Western Carolina
Leilany Ipunesso, Western Carolina
Isabella Sambola, Western Carolina
