GREENVILLE, S.C. – Furman's Lillie Murphy has been voted the 2026 Southern Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, while Paladin head coach Michelle Dasso was voted the league's coach of the year, it was announced today by the SoCon office.
In addition to Murphy, freshman Elle Warren and junior Macy Hitchcock were honored as members of the All-SoCon team. Postseason balloting was conducted by the league's head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes.
A native of Knoxville, Tenn., Murphy becomes just the third women's tennis athlete to win both player of the year and freshman of the year in the same season and the first since Furman's Ansley Speaks accomplished the feat in 2014. The only other player to attain the achievement was Paladin Megan Dunigan in 1999.
The Paladins have captured women's tennis player of the year honors a total of 21 times and have earned 15 freshman of the year citations.
Murphy tallied a 15-3 overall singles record and a perfect 7-0 mark in league matches. She played primarily at flight two, where she notched a 12-3 record, but she moved to flight one for three conference matches, fashioning an unblemished 3-0 mark at the top spot.
Playing at flight one doubles, Murphy went 13-2 overall and 7-0 in SoCon play. She teamed with freshman Sasha Dimitrov early on in the season, with the Paladin duo achieving a national ranking as high as 16th, then teamed with Warren in March and April to rank as high as 31st nationally.
In her fourth season at the helm of the Furman program, Dasso led the Paladins to a 15-4 record and a national ranking as high as 66th. Furman dominated the SoCon slate, blanking four of its seven opponents and giving up just six points over the conference season.
Both Murphy and Warren were selected to the All-SoCon first team for singles and doubles and to the SoCon All-Freshman team. In singles, Warren, who hails from Canton, Ohio, tallied a 10-8 overall mark and a 6-1 SoCon record, playing primarily at flight one, while Murphy and Warren, who competed together at the NCAA Doubles Championship in the fall, were a perfect 11-0 at flight one in spring dual matches.
Furman has claimed 24 all-freshman team selections since the honor was instituted in 2009 and seven in the last five seasons.
A native of Eaton, Ohio, Hitchcock was voted to the All-SoCon second team for singles for the second-consecutive year. She recorded an 11-5 overall singles record, including a 9-3 mark at flight three. In SoCon matches, Hitchcock was undefeated with a 7-0 record, all at number three.
The 2026 Southern Conference Women's Tennis Championship begins Thursday in Chattanooga, Tenn. No. 68 Furman (15-4, 7-0 SoCon) enters the tournament as the No. 1 seed and will square off against eighth-seeded Western Carolina Thursday at 8:30 a.m. in the opening round of the tournament. The Paladins defeated the Catamounts, 6-0, earlier this season to take a 44-0 lead in the series. Live results will be available at https://ioncourt.com/leagues/2026-southern-conference-women's-tennis-championship.
A general admission day pass will be priced at $10, with SoCon students being admitted fress with school ID. Children 5 and under will be admitted free. Tickets are available online at https://vivenu.soconsports.com/section/-r6fa.
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2026 Southern Conference Player of the Year
Lillie Murphy, Furman
2026 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year
Lillie Murphy, Furman
2026 Southern Conference Coach of the Year
Michelle Dasso, Furman
2026 Southern Conference Sportsmanship Award
Axelle Van Beurden, Western Carolina
2026 All-Southern Conference Women's Tennis
First team
Singles
Alessandra Caceres, ETSU
Ksenija Rage, ETSU
Lillie Murphy, Furman
Elle Warren, Furman
Addison Iacono, Chattanooga
Rufaro Magarira, Chattanooga
Doubles
Alessandra Caceres/Mariangel Estrella, ETSU
Elle Warren/Lillie Murphy, Furman
Grace Agster/Quinn Bernthal, Wofford
Second team
Singles
Julia Millan, ETSU
Macy Hitchcock, Furman
Marina de Diego Quinones, Mercer
Sofiya Tsitavets, Mercer
Sophia Cedeno, UNCG
Mariya Dobreva, Western Carolina
Grace Agster, Wofford
Doubles
Julia Millan/Ksenija Rage, ETSU
Marina de Diego Quinones/Ines Homberg, Mercer
Eleni Liakonis/Hailey Troup, Samford
All-Freshman
Mariangel Estrella, ETSU
Lillie Murphy, Furman
Elle Warren, Furman
Sophia Cedeno, UNCG
Addison Iacono, Chattanooga
Rufaro Magarira, Chattanooga
