CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Three of the top four seeds advanced out of the quarterfinals of the 2023 Southern Conference Women’s Tennis Championship on Thursday, with No. 6 seed Wofford downing No. 3 Samford in a four-hour match for the first upset of the tournament. The tournament is being contested at the Champions Club, with the semifinals set for Friday at 2 p.m.
 
No. 1 seed and five-time defending champion Furman will meet the No. 4 seed Mercer and No. 2 seed ETSU will face the Terriers for the right to advance to Saturday’s title match.
 
No. 1 Furman 4, No. 8 UNCG 0
 
Regular-season champion Furman got its tournament title defense going with a shutout win over eighth-seeded UNCG.
 
The Paladins’ Madison Dillon and Luca Victoria Vocke earned a 6-3 win at No. 3 doubles before 67^th-ranked Jess Dawson and Sara Snyder clinched the point by the same score at the top flight.
 
Snyder doubled Furman’s lead with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Hanna Giddings at No. 3 singles and Vocke made it 3-0 with her 6-2, 6-1 win over Juliana Craft at No. 5. Madison Dillon clinched the match for Furman with her 6-3, 6-3 win over Olivia Gallagher at No. 4.
 
Furman has now reached the semifinals in each SoCon Championship since the tournament moved to a team scoring format in 1998.
 
Singles competition
1. Ellie Schulson (FUR) vs. Arina Babkova (UNCG) 7-6 (9-7), 1-0, unfinished
2. Marissa Pennings (FUR) vs. Alexandra Dodashev (UNCG) 7-5, 3-2, unfinished
3. Sara Snyder (FUR) def. Hanna Giddings (UNCG) 6-2, 6-4
4. Madison Dillon (FUR) def. Olivia Gallagher (UNCG) 6-3, 6-3
5. Luca Victoria Vocke (FUR) def. Juliana Craft (UNCG) 6-2, 6-1
6. Alexa Griffith (FUR) vs. Raegan Mitchell (UNCG) 6-4, 5-2, unfinished
 
Doubles competition
1. #67 Jess Dawson/Sara Snyder (FUR) def. Arina Babkova/Alexandra Dodashev (UNCG) 6-3
2. Marissa Pennings/Ellie Schulson (FUR) vs. Juliana Craft/Hanna Giddings (UNCG) 5-3, unfinished
3. Madison Dillon/Luca Victoria Vocke (FUR) def. Olivia Gallagher/Raegan Mitchell (UNCG) 6-3
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (3,5,4)
 
*****
 
No. 4 Mercer 4, No. 5 Chattanooga 1
 
Fourth-seeded Mercer downed tournament host and No. 5 seed Chattanooga 4-1 on Thursday.
 
The Bears made quick work of the Mocs in doubles play, with Teodora Ristic and Mary Weston Courville winning 6-0 at No. 1. The Bears clinched the point with a 6-1 win by Marina Quinones and Kristin Yordanova at No. 3.
 
Ristic topped Jessie Young at No. 1 singles by a 6-0, 6-0 score to make it 2-0 before Caroline Gibbens got UTC on the board with her  6-3, 6-3 win over Mary Weston Courville at No. 2.
 
Marina de Diego Quinones made it 3-1 with her 6-4, 6-3 over Lucia Melendez at No. 5 and Camilla Ciaccia clinched the match with her 7-5, 6-4 win over Nicole Abel at No. 4.
 
Singles competition
1. Teodora Ristic (MER) def. Jessie Young (UTC) 6-0, 6-0
2. Caroline Gibbens (UTC) def. Mary Weston Courville (MER) 6-3, 6-3
3. Eden Schlagenhauf (MER) vs. Rozalie Dohnalova (UTC) 6-7 (3-7), 3-4, unfinished
4. Camilla Ciaccia (MER) def. Nicole Abel (UTC) 7-5, 6-4
5. Marina de Diego Quinones (MER) def. Lucia Melendez (UTC) 6-4, 6-3
6. Lekha Varudandi (MER) vs. Callie Billman (UTC) 6-2, 6-6, unfinished
 
Doubles competition
1. Teodora Ristic/Mary Weston Courville (MER) def. Jessie Young/Caroline Gibbens (UTC) 6-0
2. Eden Schlagenhauf/Camilla Ciaccia (MER) vs. Rozalie Dohnalova/Lucia Melendez (UTC) 5-2, unfinished
3. Marina de Diego Quinones/Kristin Yordanova (MER) def. Nicole Abel/Callie Billman (UTC) 6-1
 
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (1,2,5,4)

*****
 
No. 6 Wofford 4, No. 3 Samford 3
 
In the match of the day, Wofford’s Breda Brennan outlasted Ally Hayduk in a marathon at No. 2 singles to give the sixth-seeded Terriers a 4-3 win over No. 3 seed Samford.
 
Facing quadruple match point in the third set, Brennan rattled off 12 straight points to rally for the improbable 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-0) win, ending the four-hour match and sending Wofford into the semifinals for the third time in the last four SoCon tournaments.
 
Brennan’s win came after Samford’s Alexis Lopez earned a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 win over Lily Woods at No. 1 to knot the match at 3.
 
Wofford took the early 1-0 win by claiming the doubles point, with Emely Kahrs and Brianna Wilbur taking a 6-3 win at No. 3 and Brennan and Catherine Blouin clinching the point at No. 2.
 
Samford’s Cameron Rogin won 6-4, 6-0 over Kahrs at No. 5 singles to tie the team score at 1, but Wilbur topped Lindsay Song 6-3, 6-2 at No. 3 to make it 2-1 in Wofford’s favor. Blouin made it 3-1 with her 6-2, 6-1 win over Olivia Jablonski at No. 6 but Samantha Nanere staved off elimination with her 7-5, 7-5 win over Georgia Fischer at No. 4.
 
Singles competition
1. Alexis Lopez (SAM) def. Lily Woods (WOF) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
2. Breda Brennan (WOF) def. Ally Hayduk (SAM) 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-0)
3. Brianna Wilbur (WOF) def. Lindsay Song (SAM) 6-3, 6-2
4. Samantha Nanere (SAM) def. Georgia Fischer (WOF) 7-5, 7-5
5. Cameron Rogin (SAM) def. Emely Kahrs (WOF) 6-4, 6-0
6. Catherine Blouin (WOF) def. Olivia Jablonski (SAM) 6-2, 6-1
 
Doubles competition
1. Lindsay Song/Samantha Nanere (SAM) vs. Georgia Fischer/Lily Woods (WOF) 2-5, unfinished
2. Breda Brennan/Catherine Blouin (WOF) def. Alexis Lopez/Lauren Waddles (SAM) 6-2
3. Emely Kahrs/Brianna Wilbur (WOF) def. Cameron Rogin/Olivia Jablonski (SAM) 6-3
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (5,3,6,4,1,2)
 
*****
 
No. 2 ETSU 4, No. 7 Western Carolina 0
 
Second-seeded ETSU topped No. 7 seed Western Carolina 4-0 on Thursday.
 
The Bucs, who have reached the semifinals every year since returning to the league in 2015, claimed the doubles point and earned wins at the bottom three singles positions for the win.
 
Both winning ETSU doubles tandems posted 6-1 wins, with Fernanda Carvajal and Daniela Rivera doing so at No. 2 and Emilia Alfaro and Ralitsa Alexandrova matching the feat at No. 3.
 
Rivera won her first set at No. 3, 6-0, before her opponent, Andrea Redondo, retired to make it 2-0. Yunuen Elizarraras made it 3-0 with her 6-1, 7-5 win over Dasha Osadova at No. 6. Moments later, the match was clinched when Alexandrova downed Chloe Schwarz 6-4, 6-0 at No. 4.
 
SoCon Player of the Year Laylo Bakhodirova saw both of her matches go unfinished despite leads in both. She was leading SoCon Freshman of the Year Isabella Sambola 6-2, 5-3 at No. 1 when the match finished.
 
Singles competition
1. Laylo Bakhodirova (ETSU) vs. Isabella Sambola (WCU) 6-2, 5-3, unfinished
2. Fernanda Carvajal (ETSU) vs. Jade Groen (WCU) 5-7, 0-3, unfinished
3. Emilia Alfaro (ETSU) vs. Leilany Ipunesso (WCU) 7-5, 3-2, unfinished
4. Daniela Rivera (ETSU) def. Andrea Redondo (WCU) 6-0, retired
5. Ralitsa Alexandrova (ETSU) def. Chloe Schwarz (WCU) 6-4, 6-0
6. Yunuen Elizarraras (ETSU) def. Dasha Osadova (WCU) 6-1, 7-5
 
Doubles competition
1. Laylo Bakhodirova/Mariya Shumeika (ETSU) def. Dasha Osadova/Leilany Ipunesso (WCU) 5-2, unfinished
2. Fernanda Carvajal/Daniela Rivera (ETSU) def. Isabella Sambola/Chloe Schwarz (WCU) 6-1
3. Emilia Alfaro/Ralitsa Alexandrova (ETSU) def. Jade Groen/Andrea Redondo (WCU) 6-1
 
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (4,6,5)
 
*****
 
SoCon Women’s Tennis Championship
Chattanooga, Tenn. – Champions Club
Thursday, April 20
Match 1: No. 1 Furman 4, No. 8 UNCG 0
Match 2: No. 4 Mercer 4, No. 5 Chattanooga 1
Match 3: No. 6 Wofford 4, No. 3 Samford 3
Match 4: No. 2 ETSU 4, No. 7 Western Carolina 0
 
Friday, April 21
Match 5: No. 1 Furman vs. No. 4 Mercer, 2 p.m.
Match 6: No. 6 Wofford vs. No. 2 ETSU, 2 p.m.
 
Saturday, April 22
Match 7: Match 5 winner vs. Match 6 winner, 1 p.m.