CHATTANOOGA, TENN. -- Top-seeded Furman fell to No. 2 East Tennessee State, 4-0, Saturday in the championship match of the 2023 Southern Conference Championship at the Champions Club in Chattanooga, Tenn.

With the loss, Furman concludes the season with a 13-12 overall record and a  7-0 regular season SoCon mark.  ETSU (19-7, 6-1 SoCon) earns the SoCon's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, which will be held at regional sites in early May.

The Bucs won at flights one and two doubles to clinch the doubles point.  Laylo Bakhodirova and Mariya Shumeika beat 67th-ranked Jess Dawson and Sara Snyder, 6-2, at flight one, and Fernanda Carvajal and Daniela Rivera teamed up for a 6-0 advantage over sophomores Marissa Pennings and Ellie Schulson at number two.  Furman senior Madison Dillon and freshman Luca Victoria Vocke led 5-1 at No. 3 doubles when that match was abandoned.

In singles play, ETSU scored at flights one, four, and five.  Bakhodirova topped Schulson, 6-1, 6-2, at number one, and Emilia Alfaro posted a 6-1, 6-1 victory versus Dawson at number two.  At flight five, Rivera defeated Dillon, 6-4, 6-4.  

The match was closer than the 4-0 final score indicated. Of the three singles matches that were abandoned, two of them were in a third set and Furman led the other.  Pennings won the first set, 6-3, at flight two, and Snyder claimed set two, 6-3, and led the third set, 2-1, at flight three.  Vocke won set one, 6-1, at flight six.

#1 Furman vs. #2 ETSU • 4/22/2023 at Chattanooga, Tenn. • Champions Club

ETSU 4, Furman 0

Singles competition

1. Laylo Bakhodirova (ETSU) def. Ellie Schulson (FUR) 6-1, 6-2

2. Marissa Pennings (FUR) vs. Mariya Shumeika (ETSU) 6-3, 1-6, 0-3, unfinished

3. Sara Snyder (FUR) vs. Fernanda Carvajal (ETSU) 2-6, 6-3, 2-1, unfinished

4. Emilia Alfaro (ETSU) def. Jess Dawson (FUR) 6-1, 6-1

5. Daniela Rivera (ETSU) def. Madison Dillon (FUR) 6-4, 6-4

6. Luca Victoria Vocke (FUR) vs. Ralitsa Alexandrova (ETSU) 6-1, 5-5, unfinished

Doubles competition

1. Laylo Bakhodirova/Mariya Shumeika (ETSU) def. #67 Jess Dawson/Sara Snyder (FUR) 6-2

2. Fernanda Carvajal/Daniela Rivera (ETSU) def. Marissa Pennings/Ellie Schulson (FUR) 6-0

3. Madison Dillon/Luca Victoria Vocke (FUR) vs. Emilia Alfaro/Ralitsa Alexandrova (ETSU) 5-1, unfinished

Match Notes: ETSU 19-7 • Furman 13-12

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

2023 Southern Conference Tournament (Championship)

T-2:06 A-86