Chattanooga, Tenn. - Western Carolina women's tennis had its season come to a close on Thursday afternoon as the seventh-seeded Catamounts fell to No. 2 seed Furman in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Southern Conference Women's Tennis Championship 4-0 at the Champions Club. The Catamounts finished the season with a 9-14 record, their fourth season with at least nine victories over the last five years.
Able to field a full team in the tournament matchup, the Catamounts held their own on the doubles courts in the rematch with the Paladins. Jade Groen and Madison Schwarz battled to a 6-4 victory on court two to even the doubles point at 1-1 after Andrea Redondo and Dasha Osadova fell to their Furman counterparts. Isabella Sambola and Angela Perez fought until the end but ultimately fell in a 6-4 decision that favored the second-seeded Paladins with the early 1-0 advantage.
Furman capitalized on its early lead and claimed the first three decisions on the singles courts to finish the match. The Catamounts fell on courts No. 1, No. 5, and No. 6 in straight sets with the closest battle of those matches belonging to Dasha Osadova who was downed in her first set by a score of 6-4.
Jade Groen, Madison Schwarz, and Angela Perez each claimed first-set victories of their own to take early leads in their individual matches, but the results were abandoned following the Furman victory on court six. Groen claimed her first set by a score of 7-5 while Madison Schwarz battled to a 7-6 (7-3) tiebreak victory over Furman's Macy Hitchcock in the first set. Keeping up her momentum from her match-winning victory over Chattanooga, Angela Perez jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first set and parlayed that early advantage into a 6-3 set one win.
Furman advances to face the No. 3 seed Samford which downed No. 6 Chattanooga 4-1 on Thursday. Top-seeded ETSU swept UNCG 4-0 with fifth-seeded Mercer scoring the lone upset victory over No. 4 Wofford, 4-2.
Doubles Results
1. Ellie Schulson/Macy Hitchcock (FUR) def. Angela Perez/Isabella Sambola (WCU) 6-4
2. Jade Groen/Madison Schwarz (WCU) def. Sara Snyder/Jess Dawson (FUR) 6-4
3. Grace Thomas/Alexa Griffith (FUR) def. Dasha Osadova/Andrea Redondo (WCU) 6-1
Singles Results
1. Sara Snyder (FUR) def. Isabella Sambola (WCU) 6-1, 6-2
2. Jade Groen (WCU) vs. Ellie Schulson (FUR) 7-,5 unfinished
3. Angela Perez (WCU) vs. Grace Thomas (FUR) 6-3, 2-3, unfinished
4. Madison Schwarz (WCU) vs. Macy Hitchcock (FUR) 7-6 (7-2), 1-1, unfinished
5. Marissa Pennings (FUR) def. Andrea Redondo (WCU) 6-1, 6-1
6. Jess Dawson (FUR) def. Dasha Osadova (WCU) 6-4, 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,5,6)
*****
SoCon Women's Tennis Championship
Chattanooga, Tenn. – Champions Club
Thursday, April 18
Match 1: No. 1 ETSU 4, No. 8 UNCG 0
Match 2: No. 5 Mercer 4, No. 4 Wofford 2
Match 3: No. 3 Samford 4, No. 6 Chattanooga 1
Match 4: No. 2 Furman 4, No. 7 Western Carolina 0
Friday, April 19
Match 5: No. 1 ETSU vs. No. 5 Mercer, 10 a.m.
Match 6: No. 3 Samford vs. No. 2 Furman, 10 a.m.
Saturday, April 20
Match 7: Match 5 winner vs. Match 6 winner, 1 p.m.
