CHATTANOOGA, TENN. -- With the score tied at 3-all, senior Marissa Pennings defeated Alessandra Caceres, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, at flight two singles to lead No. 38 Furman past East Tennessee State, 4-3, Saturday to win the 2025 Southern Conference Championship at the Champions Club.

The title is the Paladins' 22nd overall and sixth in the last eight years.  With the victory, top-seeded Furman (21-3, 7-0 SoCon) earns the SoCon's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, which will be held at regional sites beginning May 2-3.  The Paladins will learn their opponent during a live selection show on April 28 at 5 p.m.

Furman posted wins at flights one and two doubles to score the opening point.  Seniors Ellie Schulson and Sara Snyder beat Daniela Rivera and Caceres, 7-5, at number one, and senior Jess Dawson and sophomore Macy Hitchcock held off Jana Rovira and Julia Millan in a tiebreaker, 7-6(4), at flight two.  The flight three match was unfinished. 

In singles action, Dawson defeated Rovira, 7-5, 6-4, to push the Paladin lead to 2-0, but the Bucs (14-9) rallied to score the next three points.  Millan recorded a 6-3, 6-3 advantage versus Schulson at flight four, then Ksenija Rage topped senior Grace Thomas, 6-2, 6-3, at number six.  In the top-seeded contest, Rivera defeated Snyder, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. Hitchcock then posted a 7-6(5), 6-2 victory over Ralitsa Alexandrova at number five to tie the match at 3-3, setting up the decisive flight two match up. 

Thomas earned the Pinnacle Award, given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team.  A neuroscience major from Sunshine Coast, Australia, she boasts a 4.0 GPA.

"This team has accomplished so much these past four months, but we are most proud of who they are as people," said Furman head coach Michelle Dasso after the victory.  "They live each day with a sense of gratitude, not entitlement, and that's when you know you've really won as a coach.  It was super special to have our director of athletics, Jason Donnelly, and senior associate athletics director, Nate Burton, in attendance to watch us punch our ticket to the NCAA tournament."

ETSU vs Furman • 04/19/2025 at Chattanooga, Tenn. • Champions Club
#38 Furman 4, ETSU 3
Singles competition
1. Daniela Rivera (ETSU) def. Sara Snyder (FUR) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
2. Marissa Pennings (FUR) def. Alessandra Caceres (ETSU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 
3. Jess Dawson (FUR) def. Jana Rovira (ETSU) 7-5, 6-4
4. Julia Millan (ETSU) def. Ellie Schulson (FUR) 6-3, 6-3
5. Macy Hitchcock (FUR) def. Ralitsa Alexandrova (ETSU) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 
6. Ksenija Rage (ETSU) def. Grace Thomas (FUR) 6-2, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Ellie Schulson/Sara Snyder (FUR) def. Daniela Rivera/Alessandra Caceres (ETSU) 7-5
2. Jess Dawson/Macy Hitchcock (FUR) def. Jana Rovira/Julia Millan (ETSU) 7-6 (7-4)
3. Alexa Griffith/Grace Thomas (FUR) vs. Ralitsa Alexandrova/Ksenija Rage (ETSU) 5-6, unfinished

Match Notes: ETSU 14-9 • Furman 21-3; National ranking #38
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (3,4,6,1,5,2) 
2025 SoCon Championships • #1 Furman vs. #2 ETSU - Final
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