MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- No. 22 Texas Tech swept Furman, 4-0, Friday in the opening round of the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic, which is being held this weekend in Montgomery, Ala.

The Red Raiders (6-3) picked up victories at flights one and two doubles to claim the first point.  

Seventh-ranked Avelina Sayfetdinova and Metka Komac topped junior Jess Dawson and freshman Maeve Thornton, 6-1, in the top-seeded contest, and Cristina Tiglea and Mariya Polishcuk teamed up for a 6-3 advantage over junior Ellie Schulson and freshman Macy Hitchcock at flight two.  The unfinished number three match between Furman juniors Sara Snyder and Grace Thomas and Texas Tech's Jermine Sherif and Andreea Lila was tied at 3-all.  

In singles, Texas Tech scored at flights two, three, and five for the win.  Polishchuk held off Thornton, 6-2, 6-5, at number two, and Sayfetdinova defeated Shulson, 6-2, 6-3, at flight three.  At flight five, Komac posted a 6-0, 6-2 win versus Hitchcock.

Furman's Thomas won the second set, 6-2, at flight four, and junior Marissa Pennings led the second set at flight five, 6-5, when the match was called.  In the number one match up, Snyder took 59th-ranked Tigles to 7-5 in set one.    

The Paladins (2-6) then faced No. 26 Yale in doubles, where the Bulldogs won two out of three matches to score the point.  The teams split flights two and three, with Furman's Schulson and Hitchcock landing a 6-1 victory over Orly Ogilvy and Mirabelle Brettkelly at flight two, and Yale's AnnWright Guerry and Sophia Zaslow defeating Snyder and Thomas, 6-3, at number three.  In the decisive flight one contest, Yale's Shyla Aggawal and Erin Ha held off Dawson and Thornton, 6-3.

Furman will conclude the match versus Yale on Saturday morning then will square off against either Arizona or Tulsa later in the day.

Furman vs #22 Texas Tech • 02/23/2024 • at Montgomery, Ala. (Lagoon Park)

#22 Texas Tech 4, Furman 0 

Singles competition

1. #59 Cristina Tiglea (TTU) vs. Sara Snyder (FUR) 7-5, 5-1, unfinished

2. Mariya Polishchuk (TTU) def. Maeve Thornton (FUR) 6-2, 7-5

3. Avelina Sayfetdinova (TTU) def. Ellie Schulson (FUR) 6-2, 6-3

4. Kate Dmitrichenko (TTU) vs. Grace Thomas (FUR) 6-1, 3-6, 0-1, unfinished 

5. Metka Komac (TTU) def. Macy Hitchcock (FUR) 6-0, 6-2

6. Jermine Sherif (TTU) vs. Marissa Pennings (FUR) 6-1, 5-6, unfinished

Doubles competition

1. #7 Metka Komac/Avelina Sayfetdinova (TTU) def. Jess Dawson/Maeve Thornton (FUR) 6-1 

2. Mariya Polishchuk/Cristina Tiglea (TTU) def. Macy Hitchcock/Ellie Schulson (FUR) 6-3

3. Andreea Lila/Jermine Sherif (TTU) vs. Sara Snyder/Grace Thomas (FUR) 3-3, unfinished

Match Notes: Furman 2-6 • Texas Tech 6-3; National ranking #22

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

Blue Gray National Tennis Classic First Round