Chattanooga, Tenn. – Western Carolina women's tennis team closed its 2025-26 season at the Southern Conference Tennis Championships on Thursday, falling to the league's regular-season champion and top-seeded Furman, 4-0, at the Champions Club.
The Paladins advance to the SoCon semifinals, where they will face the No. 4 seed Wofford Terriers at 10 a.m. Wofford dispatched fifth-seeded Samford, 4-0, to advance. With the loss, WCU's season comes to an end in Chattanooga.
The Catamounts mounted a valiant effort across the courts, first in doubles and then in singles, taking a pair of first-set wins on the second and third singles courts. WCU contested a tight battle on the third doubles court to raise the curtain on the tournament.
The No. 46 nationally ranked pairing of Lillie Murphy and Elle Warren took a 6-1 win over WCU's Mariya Dobreva and Mia Miranda on the top court as the Paladins claimed the early advantage in doubles play. Furman would then secure the doubles point with a 6-1 win on the second court.
The Catamount tandem of Jenelle Roberts and Axelle Van Beurden were trailing by just one, 4-3, on the third when the point had been decided.
Shorthanded for much of the year, the Catamounts began singles play with a full six-court lineup. Mia Miranda and Jenelle Roberts both took brief advantages in singles play, claiming first-set wins of 6-4 and 6-3 on the second and third courts, respectively.
WCU's Mariya Dobreva, a second-team All-SoCon selection this spring, retired due to injury from her match on the top court against the SoCon's Player of the Year, Lillie Murphy. The latter claimed the win after leading 4-0 in the first set. Dobreva, who transferred from Colorado State, led the Catamounts with 10 singles victories this season.
Furman secured the match victory with wins on the fourth and fifth courts, ending play as the Paladins advance. Axelle Van Beurden, who earned the SoCon's Sportsmanship Aard this week fell 6-0, 6-1 on court No. 4, and Kelly Coetzee mounted a late rally but fell 6-2, 6-4.
Hokualohi Lui trailed in her match 6-2, 5-2 when the team match was decided.
