GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Furman men's tennis team opened Southern Conference play Wednesday afternoon and defeated the UNC Greensboro Spartans, 4-3, from UNCG Tennis Courts.

Furman improves to 3-8 overall and 1-0 in the SoCon. With the loss, UNC Greensboro drops to 2-9 on the season and 1-1 in conference play. The win marks the Paladins' 16^th consecutive victory over the Spartans dating back to 2014.

Furman jumped out to the early 1-0 lead after sweeping all three doubles matches. Evan Duggal and Landon Ecarma got things started with a 6-2 victory at No. 2 against William Elmers and Hector Nissen when Alex Han and Finn Pollard clinched the point at No. 3 with their 6-2 triumph over Lars Frafjord and Tymofiy Khrystyuk. Playing at No. 1, Nicolas Dispas and Nico Snyder closed out doubles with a 6-4 win versus John Gabelic and Devon Moskowitz.

The Paladins followed in singles play with three wins at No. 4, No. 5, and No. 6 to secure the 4-3 victory. Furman picked up back-to-back wins from Duggal at No. 4 and Ecarma at No. 6 to take a 3-0 lead. Duggal topped Nissen in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1, and Ecarma followed with his first collegiate singles victory, 6-3, 6-4, against Eric Lindemann. Following a win by the Spartans at No. 1, Walker Allen clinched the match for the Paladins in the No. 5 contest. The junior from Cumming, Ga., held off Elmers in three sets, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

Furman continues its stretch of four matches in five days Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m. against Washington and Lee in Lexington, Va. Fans can follow the action on www.furmanpaladins.com via live stats and live streaming. Updates will be posted on the Furman men's tennis Twitter page (@FurmanMTennis).

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