April 27, 2000

FURMAN WOMEN'S TENNIS SWEEPS SOCON AWARDS

CHATTANOOGA The Furman women's tennis team swept every major award at the Southern Conference tennis banquet Thursday night as the Lady Paladins earned player-of-the-year, freshman-of-the-year, coach-of-the-year, and the sportsmanship award. Furman also earned four all-conference citations.

For the second straight season, Megan Dunigan, of Oak Ridge, Tenn., was named Southern Conference player-of-the-year. Last season, as a freshman, Dunigan became the first player in conference history to be named player-of-the-year and freshman-of-the-year in the same season. Her sophomore season has been no less disappointing as she has posted a 17-4 overall record and a perfect 8-0 conference mark at No. 1 singles.

For the third straight season, a Furman freshman has been honored as the conference freshman-of-the-year as Natalie The, of Lake Worth, Fla., received the award this season. The posted a 13-6 overall record a perfect 9-0 league record at No.'s 5 and 6 singles. The did not lose a set in conference singles play this season. She also played No. 2 doubles and tallied a 12-8 mark. The follows Meredith Moore ('98) and Megan Dunigan ('99) and league freshmen-of-the-year.

For the sixth time in her career, head coach Debbie Southern has been honored as the league coach-of-the-year. Southern guided Furman to a perfect 9-0 conference record as they enter this weekend's conference tournament as the No. 1 seed. The Lady Paladins currently hold a 15-7 overall mark. Southern is in her 17th season as Furman's head coach and holds a career record of 210-164 as she earned her 200th victory this season. This is the second time in the last three seasons that Southern has received this award.

Emelie Isaksson made it a clean sweep for the Lady Paladins as the sophomore from Ulricehamn, Sweden, received the Southern Conference Sportsmanship Award. Isaksson was the 1998 SoCon Tournament MVP and returned to Furman this season after a year at home in her native Sweden. Isaksson posted a 9-0 league record and a 15-7 overall mark this season. She is the third Lady Paladin to receive this award as Kathryn Jarvis and Beth Niemyer won the award in 1990 and 1992, respectively.

The 2000 Southern Conference all-conference team was also announced Thursday. Dunigan and Meredith Moore were named to the singles all-conference team. Moore plays No. 2 singles for the Lady Paladins and holds a 16-6 record. In doubles, the tandem of Dunigan and Gene Holman was one of three teams chosen to the all-conference team. This tandem plays No. 1 doubles and has won 13 of their last 16 matches after starting the year 0-4.

Furman will battle Davidson tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. at the McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tenn., in the quarterfinals of the SoCon tournament. Furman is seeking its third straight Southern Conference tournament championship and its second straight berth in the NCAA Tournament.