CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Furman women's tennis team fell to Charlotte, 5-2, Friday morning at Life Time in Charlotte, N.C.

The Paladins scored at flights four and five singles, with both matches reaching a 10-point tiebreaker.  Freshman Sasha Dimitrov came from behind to beat Lucia Aranda, 4-6, 7-6(4), 1-0(10) at flight four, and freshman Bianca Ceroni held off Prisca Abbas, 7-6(6), 3-6, 1-0(7) at number five. 

In the doubles competition, the teams split matches at flights two and three to force a decisive contest in the top seed, with the match going to a tiebreaker after the teams settled at 6-all.  The 49ers' Sara Suchankova and Ni Xi held off freshmen Sasha Dimitrov and Lillie Murphy, 7-6(2), to score the opening point.  Furman picked up the victory at flight two, where Ceroni teamed with freshman Elle Warren to top Aranda and Yelyzave Chainykova, 6-3.

Charlotte (5-2) won the top three singles match and flight six singles in straight sets.

Furman (3-2) will travel to Western Carolina Wednesday.  First serve is set for 1 p.m. in Cullowhee, N.C., weather permitting.

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Furman vs Charlotte • 01/30/2026 • at Lifetime Fitness (Charlotte, N.C.)
Charlotte 5, Furman 2
Singles competition
1. #72 Ni Xi (CLT) def. Elle Warren (FUR) 6-2, 6-3
2. Shona Nakano (CLT) def. Lillie Murphy (FUR) 7-6 (7-1), 6-2
3. Sara Suchankova (CLT) def. Macy Hitchcock (FUR) 6-1, 6-1
4. Sasha Dimitrov (FUR) def. Lucia Aranda (CLT) 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 1-0 (12-10) 
5. Bianca Ceroni (FUR) def. Prisca Abbas (CLT) 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 1-0 (10-7) 
6. Yelyzave Chainykova (CLT) def. Molly Robinson (FUR) 6-0, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. #47 Sara Suchankova/Ni Xi (CLT) def. #16 Sasha Dimitrov/Lillie Murphy (FUR) 7-6 (7-2) 
2. Bianca Ceroni/Elle Warren (FUR) def. Lucia Aranda/Yelyzave Chainykova (CLT) 6-3
3. Prisca Abbas/Shona Nakano (CLT) def. Macy Hitchcock/Molly Robinson (FUR) 6-2

Match Notes:  Furman 3-2 • Charlotte 5-2
Order of finish:  Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,3,1,2,5,4)