April 27, 2000

FURMAN MEN'S TENNIS EARN FIVE ALL CONFERENCE AWARDS;

SCARPA NAMED LEAGUE COACH-OF-THE-YEAR

CHATTANOOGA The Furman men's tennis team received five all-conference awards and head coach Paul Scarpa was named the league coach-of-the-year at the Southern Conference tennis banquet Thursday night in Chattanooga, Tenn.

No. 1 singles player Lee Nickell was named to the all-conference singles team for the second straight season. Nickell holds a 14-14 overall mark this season. In doubles, Furman claimed two of the three doubles slots as the tandems of Nickell and Drew Parker as well as John Chesworth and James Cameron were honored as all-conference in doubles. Nickell and Parker are 21-7 on the year, playing at No. 2 doubles. The freshman duo of Cameron and Chesworth is 17-12 at No. 1 doubles.

For the sixth time in his illustrious career, Paul Scarpa has been named league coach-of-the-year. After a disappointing season in 1999, Scarpa rallied the Paladins to a second place finish in the regular season. Furman is currently 20-12 on the season, the most wins for the program since 1994. Scarpa is one of the most well respected and successful coach's in men's tennis. In his 37th season as a collegiate tennis coach and his 34th at Furman, Scarpa is the fourth winningest active coach in Division I with an all-time record of 679-412. Scarpa is 645-393 at Furman. This is the second time in the last three seasons that Scarpa has received league coach-of-the-year honors.

Furman will face The Citadel Friday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference tournament at the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Paladins are the No. 2 seed in the tournament and are seeking to win their league-high 11th tournament title this weekend.

For more information, contact: Chris Colvin (864) 294-3062