April 20, 2008

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CHARLESTON, S.C. - With a 4-1 win over Elon on Sunday, the Furman men's tennis team won the Southern Conference Tournament Championship and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA men's tennis tournament.

Furman won the doubles point with wins at the number one and two spots. At the top flight, the team of Andy Juc and Chris Motes defeated Damon Gooch and Philip Nemec by a score of 8-4. The Paladin team of Bo Ladyman and Jordan Walters sealed the point for the Paladins with an 8-3 win over Mason Schermerhorn and Alberto Rojas.

In singles play, the Paladins settled in for a long fight in a match that was closer than the score indicated. Furman's Jordan Walters earned the first singles point for the Paladins with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Philip Nemec. Elon fought back with a win at number six singles, where Chase Helpingstine topped freshman Sawyer Duncan 6-2, 7-5.

With four matches still undecided, Chris Motes put the Paladins one step closer to a victory with a close 7-6, 6-2 win over Alberto Rojas in the number three spot. Junior Andy Juc sealed the win for the Paladins with a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Damon Gooch at the top singles spot. Juc was named the SoCon Tournament Most Outstanding Player.

"I couldn't be more proud, but I expected nothing less than for us to play up to our potential," commented head coach Paul Scarpa. "We are so pleased to win against a very strong Elon team. It was a great match and just a great effort from everyone."

"We were honored to have such wonderful support from our alumni," continued Scarpa. "We had a great crowd here to help us to a well-deserved Southern Conference championship."

With the win, the Paladins improve to 16-10 overall, capture the school's 13th SoCon championship, and will head to the first round of the NCAA tournament on May 9. The 2008 NCAA Division I men's and tennis selection announcements will air between 2 and 2:30 p.m. Eastern time, Tuesday, April 29, on ESPNews.