May 8, 2009

Spartanburg, S.C. - Furman sophomore Sawyer Duncan was recognized as the Southern Conference Men's Tennis Player of the Month for April, announced the league office on Friday afternoon. Duncan went undefeated in eight singles matches last month, extending his winning streak to 18 consecutive matches.

Duncan helped lead the Paladins to back-to-back SoCon regular-season and tournament titles, recording a perfect 10-0 mark against conference opponents in the regular season. Duncan continued his dominant play in the SoCon Tournament, coming away victorious in all three of his matches. Against Elon the championship match, Duncan posted a come-from-behind, three-set win against Cody Stauffer MacDowell to clinch the tourney title for the Paladins and send them back to the NCAA Tournament. With 18 straight wins, Duncan is an impressive 25-2 in his second season with the Paladins.

Duncan will look to improve on that record when No. 59 Furman (22-7) challenges No. 14 Alabama (20-7) in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament tonight at 6:00 p.m.