Furman Women's Tennis Drops 5-2 Decision to #45 Southern Methodist

Feb. 27, 2007

Dallas, Texas - The Furman women's tennis team suffered a 5-2 loss at the hands of No. 45 Southern Methodist University on a blustery Tuesday afternoon at Brookhaven Country Club. The Lady Paladins, playing in their first outdoor match of the season, drop to 1-6 overall, while SMU improves to 7-3 on the season.

After losing three close doubles matches, Furman entered singles play down a point. Sophomore Laura Gioia helped the Paladin cause with a 6-4, 6-1 win over the Mustangs' Jennifer Chay at the top position. Gioia has won five consecutive matches and has only one loss this spring. Sophomore Lauren Tomory also pulled off a 6-4, 6-4 win over Kristen Reid at number five, but SMU would win the other four singles matches to secure the 5-2 win.

Furman will travel to Las Vegas, Nev., to play two more matches on its spring break trip. Up next for the Lady Paladins is a bout with host UNLV on Friday, March 2 at 1 p.m.

#45 Southern Methodist 5, #75 Furman 2
Doubles
1.Natalia Bubien /Claire Rietsch (SMU) def. Laura Gioia/Natasa Manojloivc (FU) 8-6
2. Jennifer Chay/Pavi Francis (SMU) def. Lauren Osborne/Jacqueline Eckert (FU) 9-8 (1)
3. Monica Neveklovska /Kristen Reid (SMU) def. Lisa Bornt-Davis/Lauren Tomory (FU) 8-4

Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2

Singles
1. Laura Gioia (FU) def. Jennifer Chay (SMU) 6-4, 6-1
2. Natalia Bubien (SMU) def. Lauren Osborne (FU) 6-3, 5-7, 6-1
3. Claire Rietsch (SMU) def. Bonnie Baird (FU) 7-6 (5), 6-3
4. Pavi Francis (SMU) def. Jacqueline Eckert (FU) 6-1, 6-0
5. Georgiana Marta (SMU) def. Natasa Manojloivc (FU) 7-6, 7-6
6. Lauren Tomory (FU) def. Kristen Reid (SMU) 6-4, 6-4
7. Monica Neveklovska (SMU) def. Wanjiku Ngaruiya, 6-1, 6-3

Order of Finish: 4, 1, 3, 2, 6, 5