May 14, 1999

FURMAN WOMEN'S TENNIS HEADS TO NCAA TOURNAMENT

GREENVILLE - The Furman women's tennis team will play in the first round of the 1999 NCAA Women's Tennis Tournament Saturday in Columbia. The Lady Paladins will play 14th seeded South Carolina at 2 p.m.

Furman will be making its first ever appearance in the NCAA tournament, as a team or individual. The Lady Paladins 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.

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.

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 at 10 a.m., 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.