After three seasons of falling short of the coveted Southern Conference title, the Furman women's tennis team regained the title they knew so well in the early 90's with a 5-3 victory over Chattanooga in the Southern Conference Tournament title match last season. Coach Debbie Southern's 1999 squad hopes to build on that accomplishment this season by repeating as tournament champs as well as claiming the regular season title.
"Our primary goal is to win the Southern Conference Tournament and be the first SoCon team to compete in the NCAA Division I Tournament as a team," said Southern.
For the first time, due to the expansion of the tournament field to 64 teams, the champion of the Southern Conference Tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA's. The field will consist of 31 automatic bids and 33 at large teams playing a dual match, single elimination format.
With a lot of depth and parity, and no real front runner, the competition for that first-ever bid will be intense. Along with Furman, Chattanooga, ETSU, UNC Greensboro, Georgia Southern, and Davidson will each field strong teams. In addition, the College of Charleston competes in the league for the first time this season.
Furman will once again play a demanding non-conference schedule. Their slate includes Georgia Tech, Clemson, South Carolina, TCU, San Diego, N.C. State, Wake Forest, and North Carolina. Though it is always a challenge knocking off bigger schools like these, Southern feels that this year's team can win any time they step on the court.
Furman's talent is noticeably improved with the addition of two highly talented freshmen in Megan Dunigan, who will likely play No. 1 singles, and Gene Holman, who will fit into the middle of the lineup. Everyone else will move down a spot or two and thus should be even more productive. But with only seven players, depth could be a problem.
"Because we are down in numbers, the ability to stay healthy will be a huge factor," said Southern. "If we stay healthy, I feel our team will be stronger than last year."
Furman's 1999 squad has only one senior, Jen Connell. Connell has played a fair amount of singles over the past three seasons, posting a 16-16 record in those matches. She will be the Lady Paladins' starter at No. 6 singles for the season and will have to contribute there as well as in doubles. She took her doubles play to a new level last season as she was the difference in the SoCon tournament clinching doubles match vs. Chattanooga.
Jarrell Starnes, Furman's No. 1 singles player as a freshman in 1997, moved to No. 3 a year ago, and will likely move to No. 4 or No. 5 this season, where she should be able to produce a stellar record. Starnes lost a number of close matches a year ago and is hungry to have a better season.
Sara Rosenblum, in her third year at Furman, enters her second full season of tennis after recovering from a 1997 knee injury. She struggled early last season, but is gaining more and more confidence each day. Like Starnes, Rosenblum will be counted on to have a lot of success playing at a lower position than last year.
Meredith Moore enjoyed a tremendous amount of success as a freshman, posting a 15-5 singles record in the No. 1 singles spot. She is currently ranked 28th in the Southeast Region and was 21st following last season. She is the reigning Southern Conference freshman-of-the-year and will likely play No. 2 singles with the addition of Dunigan to the lineup.
The most heralded freshman in Furman women's tennis history is Megan Dunigan. Dunigan, from Oak Ridge, Tenn., compiled a perfect 82-0 high school record and owns a national junior ranking of 73rd. She had a successful fall season, posting a 10-4 singles record and earning a Southeast region ranking of #22. She will likely step in as the Lady Paladins No. 1 singles player.
Furman's other freshman is Gene Holman, of Shelby, N.C. Holman will contribute in the middle of the Lady Paladin lineup and will also have to play a big role in the doubles lineup as well.
Junior Alix Refshauge returns to the Lady Paladin squad in February after taking the fall and part of winter term off. She will be called upon in the event of injury and will have to provide some much needed depth beyond Furman's top six. A strong doubles player, Refshauge could find herself in the starting doubles lineup by the season's end.