May 5, 1999

FURMAN WOMEN'S TENNIS RECEIVES NCAA BID

GREENVILLE The Furman women's tennis team became the first team in Southern Conference women's tennis history to receive an NCAA Tournament bid Wednesday night. The Lady Paladins will play 14th seeded South Carolina in Columbia on Saturday, May 15.

Furman won a share of the 1999 Southern Conference regular season title and earned the automatic NCAA Tournament bid by virtue of a 5-1 victory over College of Charleston in the championship match of the Southern Conference Tournament. The Lady Paladins hold a 16-9 overall record and posted an 8-1 SoCon mark. They are currently riding an eight match winning streak and just claimed their eighth Southern Conference tournament title.

This is the first time the Lady Paladins have appeared in the tournament, as a team or as an individual. Furman was led this season by freshman Megan Dunigan. Dunigan, from Oak Ridge, Tenn., played No. 1 singles and was ranked in the nation's top 100 for over a month. She posted a 16-9 spring singles record and became the first Southern Conference women's tennis player to be named player-of-the-year and freshman-of-the-year in the same season.

Meredith Moore, a sophomore from Lewisville, N.C., joined Dunigan as all-conference recipients. Gene Holman, a freshman from Shelby, N.C., held Furman's top singles record at 19-6, placing her eighth on Furman's single season victory charts. Junior Jarrell Starnes was named the Southern Conference Tournament's Most Outstanding Player for her performance at No. 4 singles. Senior Jen Connell, from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., and junior Alix Refshauge, from Spartanburg, S.C., both have winning singles records and will round out the Lady Paladin lineup at No.'s 5 and 6 singles.

South Carolina downed Furman 9-0 on February 13 in Greenville. The Lady Gamecocks hold a 13-6 all-time advantage over the Lady Paladins. In addition to the Furman-South Carolina match, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest will square off in Columbia on May 15, with the winners meeting on Sunday, May 16. The winner of this subregional will travel to the University of Florida to compete in the final four rounds.