ETSU downs Furman for SoCon Women’s Tennis Championship

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – No. 1 seed ETSU repeated as SoCon Tennis Champions against No. 2 seed Furman, topping the Paladins 4-1 Saturday in the title match of the 2024 Southern Conference Women’s Tennis Championship for its second consecutive crown.   The Bucs (17-7) and Paladins (12-13) were meeting in the title bout for the seventh straight tournament, with Furman claiming five of the previous six meetings. ETSU, which has reached the championship match each year since rejoining the SoCon in 2015, claimed its third title in program history. The Bucs’ win Saturday also solidified a 4-3 win against Furman that determined the regular-season championship exactly a week ago.   ETSU Redshirt Senior, Fernanda Carvajal, was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament after going 2-0 in singles play with one match going unfinished, and 3-0 in doubles over the course of the three-day event.   Rivera and Fernanda Carvajal got the scoring started in doubles, as they cruised to a 6-2 win at No. 1. Jess Dawson and Sara Snyder kept Furman in the running with a 6-4 victory at No. 3 over Jana Rovira and Ralitsa Alexandrova. The doubles point came down to No. 2 where Maeve Thornton and Grace Thomas defeated Sofia Markova and Alessandra Caceres, 7-5, to clinch the point for the Paladins.   In singles play, Carvajal got on the board first with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Thornton at No. 2 in a rematch of the match that Carvajal won 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) last week to clinch regular-season title for the Paladins.   At the No. 6 spot, Ralitsa Alexandrova avenged her loss in the regular season title match, beating Marissa Pennings 7-5, 6-2 to make the match score 2-1. Caceres defeated Macy Hitchcock at No. 5, 6-2, 7-5, to bring ETSU within a point of the title.   Last year’s MVP Daniela Rivera clinched the match for the Buccaneers with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Ellie Schulson at the No. 3 spot.   Player of the Year, Sofia Markova was leading the No. 1 match against Snyder. She dropped the first set 5-7 but came back in the second with a decisive 6-0 score. When the match was abandoned, Markova led 5-3.   Jana Rovira led the No. 4 singles match, 3-6, 6-4, 3-1 when the match was abandoned.   Carvajal earned the Pinnacle Award, given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team. A Psychology major, she boasts a 3.60 GPA.   The Bucs, who earned the SoCon’s automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Championships, will learn their postseason fate on Monday, April 29, with an announcement on NCAA.com at 6 p.m.   Singles competition 1. Sofia Markova (ETSU) vs. Sara Snyder (FUR) 5-7, 6-0, 5-3, unfinished

2. Fernanda Carvajal (ETSU) def. Maeve Thornton (FUR) 6-3, 6-4

3. Daniela Rivera (ETSU) def. Ellie Schulson (FUR) 7-5, 6-4

4. Jana Rovira (ETSU) vs. Grace Thomas (FUR) 3-6, 6-4, 3-1, unfinished

5. Alessandra Caceres (ETSU) def. Macy Hitchcock (FUR) 6-2, 7-5

6. Ralitsa Alexandrova (ETSU) def. Marissa Pennings (FUR) 7-5, 6-2

 
Doubles competition

1. Fernanda Carvajal/Daniela Rivera (ETSU) def. Ellie Schulson/Macy Hitchcock (FUR) 6-2

2. Maeve Thornton/Grace Thomas (FUR) def. Sofia Markova/Alessandra Caceres (ETSU) 7-5

3. Jess Dawson/Sara Snyder (FUR) def. Jana Rovira/Ralitsa Alexandrova (ETSU) 6-4

 
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,6,5,3)

*****
 
Most Outstanding Player
Fernanda Carvajal, ETSU
 
Pinnacle Award (highest GPA on championship-winning team)
Fernanda Carvajal, ETSU
 

SoCon Women’s Tennis Championship
Chattanooga, Tenn. – Champions Club
Thursday, April 18
Match 1: No. 1 ETSU 4, No. 8 UNCG 0
Match 2: No. 5 Mercer 4, No. 4 Wofford 2
Match 3: No. 3 Samford 4, No. 6 Chattanooga 1
Match 4: No. 2 Furman 4, No. 7 Western Carolina 0
 
Friday, April 19
Match 5: No. 1 ETSU 4, No. 5 Mercer 1
Match 6: , No. 2 Furman 4, No. 3 Samford 3
 
Saturday, April 20
Match 7: No. 1 ETSU 4, No. 2 Furman 1