CHATTANOOGA, TENN. – Fifth-seeded Furman topped No. 1 East Tennessee State, 4-3, in the semifinals of the SoCon Men's Tennis Championship Friday morning at the Champions Club.

Furman, which improves to 9-14 on the season, advances to the championship match for the first time since 2019. East Tennessee State concludes its season with a 13-7 overall record. The Paladins will face third-seeded Samford in the finals Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.

The Paladins won two out of three doubles matches to claim the opening point. Nicolas Dispas and Nico Snyder got things started at No. 3 by winning their team best 13^th match of the season, 6-4, over Pedro Cressoni and James Sim. Matt Kandel and Elijah Poritzky, playing at No. 1, clinched the point following a 7-5 triumph, their fifth of the year, versus Martin Garcia-Ripoll and Peter Kalocsai. In the No. 2 match, Cole Burnam and Connor Laymon were tied, 6-6, with Francisco Lamas and Juan Andres Listo when Furman captured the doubles point.

The Paladins followed in singles with wins at No. 2, No. 5, and No. 6 to secure the match. The Bucs started with back-to-back victories at No. 1 and No. 4 before Kandel evened the score with a 6-3, 6-2 win against Garcia-Ripoll, his seventh this season, playing at No. 2. After ETSU claimed a win at No. 3, Walker Allen totaled his team leading 13^th singles victory at No. 5 when he defeated Listo in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.

Snyder clinched the victory for Furman at No. 6 after improving to 8-1 on the season. The freshman from San Juan, Puerto Rico, picked up his eighth consecutive victory in straight sets against Carlos Gonzales, 7-6(3), 6-3, to send Furman into the championship match.

Fans can follow tomorrow's match on www.furmanpaladins.com via live stats. Updates will be posted on the Furman men's tennis Twitter page (@FurmanMTennis).