CHATTANOOGA, TENN. -- Furman outlasted Mercer, 4-2, Friday in the semifinals of the 2023 Southern Conference Championship, at the Champions Club in Chattanooga, Tenn.

With the win, Furman (13-11, 7-0 SoCon) advances to the finals of the league championships for the sixth-consecutive time.  The Paladins will square off against No. 2 seed East Tennessee State Saturday at 2 p.m. with the winner earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.  The Paladins and Bucs are meeting in the title match for the sixth-straight tournament, and Furman has won each of the previous five match-ups.

The Paladins picked up doubles wins at flights two and three to secure the first point.  Senior Madison Dillon and freshman Luca Victoria Vocke defeated Marina Quinones and Kristin Yordanova, 6-4, at flight three, then Mercer won at flight one.  In the decisive flight two contest, sophomores Marissa Pennings and Ellie Schulson held off Eden Schlagenhauf and Camilla Ciaccia in a tiebreaker, 7-6(5).

Furman scored at flights one, two, and six singles for the victory.  All-SoCon first team selection Schulson held off Teodora Ristic, 6-2, 7-5, at number one, and Pennings topped Mary Courville, 7-5, 6-4, at number two.  At flight six, Vocke, who was named to the All-SoCon second team and the SoCon All-Freshman team, recorded a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Lekha Varudandi.  

Mercer (13-9) scored at flights four and five, and the flight three contest was unfinished.  

#4 Mercer vs. #1 Furman • 4/21/2023 at Chattanooga, Tenn. • Champions Club

Furman 4, Mercer 2

Singles competition

1. Ellie Schulson (FUR) def. Teodora Ristic (MER-W) 6-2, 7-5

2. Marissa Pennings (FUR) def. Mary Courville (MER-W) 7-5, 6-4

3. Sara Snyder (FUR) vs. Eden Schlagenhauf (MER-W) 6-0, 3-6, 3-3, unfinished

4. Camilla Ciaccia (MER-W) def. Jess Dawson (FUR) 6-4, 6-3

5. Marina Quinones (MER-W) def. Madison Dillon (FUR) 1-6, 6-3, 6-0

6. Luca Victoria Vocke (FUR) def. Lekha Varudandi (MER-W) 6-1, 6-0

Doubles competition

1. Teodora Ristic/Mary Courville (MER-W) def. #67 Jess Dawson/Sara Snyder (FUR) 6-3

2. Marissa Pennings/Ellie Schulson (FUR) def. Eden Schlagenhauf/Camilla Ciaccia (MER-W) 7-6 (7-5)

3. Madison Dillon/Luca Victoria Vocke (FUR) def. Marina Quinones/Kristin Yordanova (MER-W) 6-4

Match Notes: Mercer 13-9 • Furman 12-11

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

2023 Southern Conference Tournament (Semifinals)

T-2:56 A-66