GREENVILLE, S.C. - UNC Greensboro's Annette Rios earned win No. 22 of the year, but Furman won three singles matches and two of three doubles matches to come away with a 4-3 win over the Spartans in Southern Conference women's tennis action Sunday afternoon.
Rios, a freshman from Santa Ana, El Salvador, toppled Susan Bitetti in a three-set thriller, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, to run her record to 22-7 on the year, including 15-4 this spring.
UNCG also got wins from Mikayla Rogers and Sasha Skripkina, but the Paladins swept the top three singles matches in the lineup after winning two of three doubles matches. The loss dropped UNCG to 10-8 overall and 4-4 in conference play, diminishing the Spartans' hopes for a SoCon Tournament bid as one of the top four teams in the league.
The Spartans close out conference play against Elon on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
AGATE
Furman 4, UNC Greensboro 3
Singles competition
1. Monica Arguello (FUR) def. Alex Whitehead (UNCG) 6-0, 2-2, retired
2. Lauren Kline (FUR) def. Stephanie Macfarlane (UNCG) 6-0, 6-1
3. Jessica Preeg (FUR) def. Valerie Behr (UNCG) 6-1, 6-2
4. Mikayla Rogers (UNCG) def. Michele Stanford (FUR) 6-4, 6-2
5. Annette Rios (UNCG) def. Susan Bitetti (FUR) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
6. Sasha Skripkina (UNCG) def. Jennifer Betts (FUR) 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (17-15)
Doubles competition
1. Monica Arguello/Lauren Kline (FUR) def. Valerie Behr/Stephanie Macfarlane (UNCG) 8-3
2. Jennifer Betts/Jessica Preeg (FUR) def. Jessica Eblen/Annette Rios (UNCG) 8-5
3. Alex Whitehead/Mikayla Rogers (UNCG) def. Olivia Maurice/Michele Stanford (FUR) 8-3
Match Notes:
UNC Greensboro 10-8, 4-4 SoCon
Furman 13-7, 6-2 SoCon
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,2,3,4,6,5)