Furman Women's Tennis Blanks Chattanooga;
Claims Third Straight SoCon Championship

Chattannoga, Tenn.-- The Furman women's tennis team won its third straight Southern Conference Tournament championship with a 5-0 victory over Chattanooga in the SoCon title match at the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tenn. With the victory, Furman earns its second straight NCAA Tournament bid.

Furman cruised to its sixth straight shutout victory with five singles victories. For the third time during the tournament, Furman's match did not advance to doubles competition.

Megan Dunigan, the 2000 Southern Conference player-of-the-year, was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament as she won three 6-1, 6-0 singles victories. In each match, Dunigan was the first Lady Paladin to win her match. In the championship match, Dunigan downed Daniella Greco 6-1, 6-0 at No. 1 singles.

Furman senior Jarrell Starnes defeated Pieta Horley 6-4, 6-2 to clinch the championship for Furman. Also victorious for the Lady Paladins were Meredith Moore, Emelie Isaksson, and Natalie The.

Furman improves to 18-7 on the season and have won 12 of their last 13 matches. Furman concludes the 2000 Southern Confernece season with a 68-1 conference singles record. Isaksson and The swept through 12 conference matches each this season without losing a set.

"I am very proud of our girls," said head coach Debbie Southern. "We stayed focused all year and we came through with a strong showing this weekend. This was one of our goals, now we want to go and win a round in the NCAA Tournament. We are going to go from being the favorite this weekend to being the underdog in the NCAA's and we like that role.

Furman advances to the NCAA Tournament and will learn its opponent on Thursday, May 4. The first round of the NCAA Tournament is May 13. Last season, Furman dropped a 5-1 decision to South Carolina in the first round. The win marks the ninth Southern Conference tournament championship for the Lady Paladins.

Furman 5, Chattanooga 0
April 30, 2000
Singles Results
Megan Dunigan (FU) def. Daniella Greco (UTC) 6-1, 6-0
Meredith Moore (FU) def. Karolina Glowacka (UTC) 6-4, 6-3
Gene Holman (FU) vs. Beth Henry DNF
Jarrell Starnes (FU) def. Pieta Horley (UTC) 6-4, 6-2
Emelie Isaksson (FU) def. Katie Hangstefer (UTC) 6-1, 6-1
Natalie The (FU) def. Angela Miller (UTC) 6-3, 6-0