Furman women's tennis defeated Davidson 4-0 to capture its fifth consecutive and 16th overall Southern Conference title.

April 20, 2008

CHARLESTON, S.C. - With a 4-0 defeat of Davidson, the Furman women's tennis team won the 2008 Southern Conference championship, earning the Furman tennis programs' second championship of the day and the women's program's fifth consecutive and sixteenth overall tournament championship.

Furman won the doubles point with wins at the number one and two spots. In flight two, the team of Lauren Osborne and Monica Arguello defeated Michele Fanney and Treesa Wang by a score of 8-1. The Paladin duo of Laura Gioia and Natasa Manojlovic clinched the doubles point with a 9-7 win over Kelsey Linville and Virginia Berry.

Furman won all six first sets to begin singles play, and the Paladins entered a race to see who would clinch the match first. Laura Gioia earned a quick 6-2, 6-0 win over Kelsey Linville at the number one singles spot, a victory for which she was named the SoCon Tournament Most Outstanding Player.

Senior Lauren Osborne gave the Paladins another point with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Michele Fanney, and Jessica Preeg clinched the match with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Kim Whelan.

"We came in very determined to win against a very good Davidson team," commented head coach Debbie Southern. "We played a tight dual match against them during the season, and during tournament time, anyone can win."

"It's no secret that everyone is after us," continued Southern. "The girls have to come determined to win, and they came prepared today. Our seniors provided good leadership and I think we played a little better than Davidson today."

With the win, the Paladins improve to 19-5 overall and earn the Southern Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The 2008 NCAA Division I women's tennis selection announcements will air between 2 and 2:30 p.m. Eastern time, Tuesday, April 29, on ESPNews.