Furman Tops Elon For Men's Tennis Crown

#1 Furman 4, #2 Elon 0

ELON, N.C. ? The Furman Paladins recorded their second consecutive Southern Conference Men’s Tennis Tournament title with a 4-0 victory over Elon Sunday afternoon at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.  Furman has now won three of the last four tournament titles with victories in 2006 and 2008.  The Paladins improved to 22-7 on the season and will advance to the NCAA Men’s Tennis Championships.

The Paladins jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the match with victories at the top two doubles courts.  Andy Juc and Bo Ladyman downed Damon Gooch and Philip Nemec, 8-4 at No. 1 doubles.  Chris Rhyne and Chris Motes then secured the point for the Paladins with an 8-6 win over Chase Helpingstine and Oscar Podlewski at No. 2 doubles.

Daniel Knause held off Nemec in the first set at No. 3 singles, 7-5 before posting a 6-3 win in the second set to give the Paladins a 2-0 lead in the match.  Ladyman, who was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, pushed FU ahead, 3-0, with his straight-sets win (6-1, 7-5) over Podlewski at No. 2 singles. 

Sawyer Duncan, who dropped the first set at No. 6 singles to Cory Stauffer MacDowell (1-6), rallied to claim a three-set victory (1-6, 6-4, 6-2) which sealed the victory for Furman. 

Elon finished the season at 21-6.