Furman University won against Chattanooga, 4-3, in the Paladins’ home finale at the Mickel Tennis Center in Greenville, S.C., on April 3.
The result keeps Furman ranked No. 72 nationally and improves its overall record to 14-4 and a perfect 6-0 in Southern Conference matches. The win sets up a crucial meeting with East Tennessee State next Saturday, where both teams are undefeated in league play and will compete for the regular season title and top seed in the conference tournament. Chattanooga now stands at 14-4 overall and 3-2 within the conference.
Furman started strong by sweeping all three doubles matches to secure the opening point. Lillie Murphy and Elle Warren, ranked No. 38 nationally as a pair, defeated Addison Iacono and Rufaro Magarira at number one doubles with a score of 6-2. Bianca Ceroni teamed up with Macy Hitchcock to win flight two doubles over Emma Pedretti and Savannah Presson by another convincing score of 6-2. In third doubles, Sasha Dimitrov joined Ceroni to overcome Jordan Fenton and Ella Mancuso, finishing at 6-4.
In singles competition, Furman clinched three victories: Murphy rallied from a significant deficit to defeat Iacono (7-6(2), 7-5) at flight one; Hitchcock overcame Presson (6-3, 6-1) at number three; while Lily Doherty bested Mancuso (7-6(5), 6-2) at flight six. Chattanooga’s points came from wins by Fenton over Robinson (6-2, 6-4), Magarira over Warren (2–6, 7–6(4), 6–4), and Pedretti over Ceroni (2–6, 6–4, 6–1).
Looking ahead, Furman will travel to Johnson City for their final regular season match against East Tennessee State on Saturday morning.
