The Furman women’s tennis team, ranked 71st nationally, will finish its regular season on April 10 by traveling to East Tennessee State University for a match that will decide the Southern Conference regular season champion and the top seed in the upcoming tournament. The match is scheduled for 11 a.m. at the Dave Mullins Tennis Complex in Johnson City, Tennessee.
This matchup brings together the only two unbeaten teams in conference play. Furman enters with a record of 14-4 overall and a perfect 6-0 mark in league matches after narrowly defeating Chattanooga, 4-3, on Friday. Freshmen Lillie Murphy and Elle Warren are currently ranked 44th nationally as a doubles pair following their appearance at the NCAA Doubles Championship last fall. Another freshman duo, Sasha Dimitrov and Murphy, hold an 88th national ranking after earning spring victories over Iowa and Austin Peay.
Individually, both Murphy and junior Macy Hitchcock remain undefeated at 6-0 in Southern Conference singles competition this season. Murphy leads with fourteen singles wins this spring; Hitchcock and Bianca Ceroni have each contributed ten singles victories.
East Tennessee State stands at 13-6 overall with an identical unblemished conference record of six wins. The Buccaneers’ most recent outing resulted in a loss to No. 29 Charlotte by a score of 4-0 on Saturday, ending their three-match winning streak that included victories against Mercer (5-2), Chattanooga (7-0), and Samford (5-2).
Furman leads the all-time series against ETSU by a margin of thirty-nine wins to four losses. Last season, Furman won both encounters: first taking the regular season meeting in Greenville with a score of five to two to secure the league title before defeating ETSU again four to three during the Southern Conference tournament championship match held in Chattanooga.
The outcome of Saturday’s contest will determine not only bragging rights but also seeding advantages heading into postseason play.
