SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Five-time defending champion Furman has earned the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Southern Conference Women’s Tennis Championship, which will be contested April 20-22 at the Champions Club in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
 
The Paladins, who claimed the top seed for the seventh straight tournament, enter the championship with an 11-11 overall record and went a perfect 7-0 in league play to run their regular-season SoCon winning streak to 51 matches, dating back to 2015. Furman won its seventh straight regular-season title and 26^th overall with its thrilling 4-3 win over ETSU in a battle of SoCon unbeatens on Saturday. The Paladins will face No. 8 seed UNCG (5-16, 0-7 SoCon) in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 1 p.m. Furman is 4-0 against the Spartans in the SoCon tournament, with the squads last meeting in the 2018 quarterfinals, which resulted in a 4-0 Paladin win. In this year’s regular-season meeting, Furman earned a 7-0 win on Feb. 5.
 
Also at 1 p.m. Thursday, No. 4 seed Mercer will take on No. 5 seed Chattanooga in the quarterfinals. The Bears, who went 12-9 overall and 4-3 in SoCon play, earned a 5-2 win over the Mocs (14-7, 3-4) in their regular-season meeting on March 18 this year. The squads have met in the SoCon tournament just once, with Chattanooga claiming a 4-0 win in the 2018 quarterfinals.
 
No. 3 seed Samford will take on No. 6 seed Wofford at 3 p.m. Thursday. The Bulldogs went 12-7 overall and 4-3 in league action, including a narrow 4-3 win over the Terriers on April 2. Wofford went 11-10 overall and 2-5 in league play. Both squads finished their regular seasons against Western Carolina, with the Bulldogs falling 4-3 on Saturday and the Terriers earning a 5-2 win over the Catamounts on April 9. Samford and Wofford have met in the SoCon Championship twice, with the Bulldogs claiming 4-0 wins in the 2009 and 2016 quarterfinals.
 
The final matchup sees No. 2 seed ETSU facing No. 7 seed Western Carolina on Thursday at 3 p.m. The Bucs finished the regular season with a 16-7 overall mark and a 6-1 league record, with their only SoCon blemish coming in heartbreaking fashion to the Paladins on Saturday. Western Carolina, which set a program record for overall wins this season, is 14-9 overall and went 2-5 in SoCon play. ETSU, which topped the Catamounts 7-0 on Tuesday, is 2-0 in prior meetings in the SoCon tournament, earning a first-round win in 2004 and a quarterfinal win 2019.
 
Friday’s semifinals are at 2 p.m., with Saturday’s title match set for 1 p.m.
 
Among current members, Furman owns a league-best 21 SoCon tournament titles, while Chattanooga has won five and ETSU and Samford have won one apiece. Furman and ETSU have met in the title match in each of the last five tournaments.
 
April 23 will serve as the rain date for the championship.
 
SoCon Women’s Tennis Championship
Chattanooga, Tenn. – Champions Club
Thursday, April 20
Match 1: No. 1 Furman vs. No. 8 UNCG, 1 p.m.
Match 2: No. 4 Mercer vs. No. 5 Chattanooga, 1 p.m.
Match 3: No. 3 Samford vs. No. 6 Wofford, 3 p.m.
Match 4: No. 2 ETSU vs. No. 7 Western Carolina, 3 p.m.
 
Friday, April 21
Match 5: Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner, 2 p.m.
Match 6: Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner, 2 p.m.
 
Saturday, April 22
Match 7: Match 5 winner vs. Match 6 winner, 1 p.m.