SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Furman’s Ansley Speaks has been named the Southern Conference Women’s Tennis Player of the Week for all matches played March 6-12. Speaks went 4-0 at No. 1 singles and posted a 3-0 mark at No. 1 doubles with Aryn Greene as the Paladins went 4-0 in Florida last week.

Furman opened its spring trip with a 5-2 win over North Florida in Jacksonville before topping Grand Valley State, 7-0. The Paladins then clipped UCF, 4-3, and swept Evansville, 7-0.

Speaks was perfect in singles play and rallied for three-set wins against UNF’s 81st-ranked Michelle Valdez (7-5, 2-6, 6-4) and UCF’s Monica Matias (6-7, 6-3, 6-4). Speaks has now won her last eight singles matches.

The team of Speaks and Greene has now won six of its last eight at the top doubles position after going 3-0 last week. After holding on for a 7-5 win over UNF’s Quetzali Vazquez and Luise Intert, Speaks and Greene came away with a 6-3 win over UCF’s Cortney Cesarini and Matias. They finished the week by cruising to a 6-2 win over Evansville’s Chieko Yamada and Theodora Soldatou.

Furman (12-5) returns to action Thursday (March 16) when the Paladins host Mercer (7-4, 1-0 SoCon).

Other top performers in the Southern Conference included Mercer’s Katia Stavroulaki, Samford’s Annika Kepp, Western Carolina’s Jordan Strickland and Wofford’s Kalli Karas.

SoCon Women’s Tennis Player of the Week
Feb. 14 – Elsa Pool, Samford
Feb. 21 – Ansley Speaks, Furman
Feb. 28 – Sydney Patton, Chattanooga
March 8 – Alory Pereira, ETSU
March 14 – Ansley Speaks, Furman