CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (April 20, 2024) – The ETSU women's tennis team captured its second consecutive Southern Conference Tournament Championship on Saturday when it knocked off No. 2 seed Furman by a score of 4-1. ETSU, now 17-7 on the season, has now won three SoCon Tournament titles and four Atlantic Sun titles.
Unlike the first two matches of the SoCon Tournament, the Bucs fell behind early on Saturday. Furman claimed the doubles point by winning two of the three contests. Facing a 1-0 deficit, the Bucs tied the match with a 6-3, 6-4 win from
Fernanda Carvajal in the No. 2 singles position.
With the match now even, the duo of
Alessandra Caceres (6-2, 7-5) and
Ralitsa Alexandrova (7-5, 6-2) both tallied victories in their respective matches to get the Bucs within a point of clinching the title.
Daniela Rivera, who was the SoCon Tournament's Most Outstanding Player last year, clinched the match for ETSU with a 7-5, 6-4 win.
After the match, Carvajal was named the Most Outstanding Player for the tournament by going undefeated in singles (2-0) and doubles (3-0). Carvajal also earned the Pinnacle Award, which is given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team. Carvajal has a 3.60 GPA and is a psychology major at ETSU.
The rest of Saturday's results can be found below.
Singles Competition
1.
Sofia Markova (ETSU) vs. Sara Snyder (FUR) 5-7, 6-0, 5-3, unfinished
2.
Fernanda Carvajal (ETSU) def. Maeve Thornton (FUR) 6-3, 6-4
3.
Daniela Rivera (ETSU) def. Ellie Schulson (FUR) 7-5, 6-4
4.
Jana Rovira (ETSU) vs. Grace Thomas (FUR) 3-6, 6-4, 3-1, unfinished
5.
Alessandra Caceres (ETSU) def. Macy Hitchcock (FUR) 6-2, 7-5
6.
Ralitsa Alexandrova (ETSU) def. Marissa Pennings (FUR) 7-5, 6-2
Doubles Competition
1.
Fernanda Carvajal/
Daniela Rivera (ETSU) def. Ellie Schulson/Macy Hitchcock (FUR) 6-2
2. Maeve Thornton/Grace Thomas (FUR) def.
Sofia Markova/
Alessandra Caceres (ETSU) 7-5
3. Jess Dawson/Sara Snyder (FUR) def.
Jana Rovira/
Ralitsa Alexandrova (ETSU) 6-4
The Bucs, who earned the SoCon's automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships, will learn their postseason fate on Monday, April 29, with an announcement on
NCAA.com at 6 p.m.
For more information on Buccaneer women's tennis, visit
ETSUBucs.com and click on the women's tennis tab.
