May 14, 2009

Greenville, S.C. - Furman senior Laura Gioia was recently honored as the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Senior Player of the Year for the Southeast Region. Gioia had a stellar final season for the Lady Paladins, and is one of nine regional award winners who will be considered for the ITA National Senior Player of the Year Award.

"Laura is very deserving of the Southeast ITA Senior Player of the Year award," commented Furman head coach Debbie Southern. "She has competed so well this year, playing her best tennis by far, and her results speak for themselves."

Gioia posted a 20-4 dual record in 2009, including an undefeated 10-0 mark against Southern Conference opponents. She was named the SoCon Player of the Year for the second time in her career and was recognized as Furman's Edna Hartness Female Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive year. The highest ranked player to ever wear the Paladin uniform, Gioia was ranked among the top 20 players in the country during the entire season. She opened spring play listed ninth after recording several fall victories over highly-ranked opponents. The four-time all-conference honoree recently received the SoCon's Dorothy Hicks Graduate Scholarship and has been accepted to dental school at the University of Florida, where she will begin her post-graduate studies in the fall.

Gioia will close out her collegiate tennis career in the 2009 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships to be held May 20-25 at George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas. Gioia was one of the 64 singles players selected to compete in the event.