By MONTE DUTTON

Chattanooga, one of three Southern Conference members invited to participated in the National Invitation Tournament, is playing in the finals on Thursday at 9 p.m., making it the first SoCon school to reach this level.

Furman (25-10) and Samford (22-11) lost first-round games. North Texas defeated the Paladins, 75-64, and George Mason won over the Bulldogs, 86-69.

The Mocs are playing California Irvine at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, with the game televised on ESPN.

Chattanooga (29-9) won, 109-103, over Middle Tennessee State in three overtimes, then followed it up with victories over Dayton (87-72), Bradley (67-65) and Loyola Chicago (80-73). Cal Irvine won its semi over North Texas, 69-67.

Wofford (19-16) earned the SoCon’s NCAA bid by defeating the Paladins in the finals. Tennessee defeated the Terriers in the opening round, 77-62.

Given the rarity of upsets in this year’s NCAA Tournament, when Furman (25-10) upended Chattanooga, 80-77, in overtime in the SoCon semifinals, it may have been the best thing that could have happened to the Mocs, who were regular-season champs.

Ten Furman athletes have been recognized for exemplary leadership by the Shucker Leadership Institute, the university has announced.
Ivan Agyaakwah (men’s soccer), Mary Boucher (competitive cheerleading), Molly Faul (women’s lacrosse), Helen Gutierrez (women’s soccer), Megan Marvin (women’s cross country/track), Chandler Parker (volleyball), Elijahy Poritzky (men’s tennis), Caleb Rickard (men’s basketball), Audrey Ryu (women’s golf), and Ellie Schulson (women’s tennis) made up the contingent of Paladin student-athletes honored for leadership.
Agyaakwah and Marvin were accorded the C. Dan Joyner Athletic Leader Award, named in honor and memory of the exemplary Greenville community leader known affectionately to the Furman community as “Furman’s Biggest Fan” because of his unwavering support of Furman Athletics.
Agyaakwah, a native of London, England, appeared in 65 matches while netting four goals and adding seven assists over the past four seasons for the Paladins.

A senior standout in cross country and track from Chapel Hill, N.C., Marvin earned an All-American citation in the 1,500m in 2022. She holds the Furman record with 17 SoCon titles, including eight individual championships, four relay titles, and five straight SoCon cross country team titles.
Poritzky and Schulson both received Furman’s Hall Of Leaders Award For Excellence In Service & Leadership. The Hall of Leaders is a select group of seniors who have demonstrated outstanding involvement with campus life and extracurricular activities and who, through their service, have exemplified a four-year commitment of the enhancement of the Furman campus.
A native of Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Poritzky has compiled 34 doubles victories and 33 singles triumphs over his three-plus seasons on the Furman men’s tennis team.
Schulson, a native of Newburyport, Mass., has helped the Paladin women’s tennis team to 22-1 SoCon regular season record, a pair of SoCon regular season titles and one league tournament championship.

Faul was accorded the Max and Trude Heller Commitment To Community Award and is given annually to the individual or campus group who, through actions of service to the community, has reflected the ideals of good citizenship.
Faul, a native of Bradenton, Fla., has appeared in 56 games and made 14 starts throughout her career on the Paladin lacrosse team, compiling 22 points on 17 goals and five assists.
Boucher and Gutierrez were recognized with Furman’s Unsung Hero Award for their work and commitment behind the scenes in enhancing Furman campus life.
Boucher, a Camden native, has been a member for the Paladins’ competitive cheerleading squad for the past two seasons as a main base/side base. She is a double major in English and psychology in the pre-law track.
A team captain, Gutierrez played in and started 16 matches as a senior in the Paladin midfield. The Statesboro, Ga., native and health sciences major scored her lone goal of the year in a home victory over UNC Asheville.

Lily Toole broke Furman’s single-game points record Wednesday evening to lead the Paladins to a 20-18 victory over the Wofford Terriers in lacrosse at Gibbs Stadium.
Furman improves to 8-2 overall and remains unbeaten in the Big South at 2-0. With the loss, Wofford drops to 3-8 on the season and 0-2 in conference play.
Toole, a freshman from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., surpassed Meagan Beal’s old school record of 11, which was achieved at Wofford on April 26, 2023.
Olivia Graebner led the Terriers offensively with six goals, and Bria Foley added six points on five goals and one assist. In goal, Ella Smithers and Hannah Taylor combined for six saves.
The Paladins remain on the road Friday traveling to High Point for a 7:30 p.m. opening draw against the Panthers at Vert Stadium.

The Furman men’s tennis team dropped its final home match of the season Wednesday afternoon, 4-1, to the Mercer Bears in Southern Conference action at Mickel Tennis Center.
Furman falls to 6-12 overall and 2-2 in the SoCon. With the win, Mercer improves to 9-6 on the season and 4-0 in conference play.
Mercer swept all three doubles matches to claim the point and take an early 1-0 lead over Furman.
The Bears followed in singles capturing three of the four completed matches.
Furman starts a three-match road trip to end the regular season Friday afternoon, traveling to Chattanooga for a 2 p.m. matchup.

Furman’s Matthew Smith and Carly Wilkes are SoCon men’s and women’s outdoor track and field athletes of the week.

Furman continued its outdoor season at N.C. State’s Raleigh Relays last weekend.  A senior from Leesburg, Va., Smith finished 15th overall in the men’s 1,500 meters with a time of 3:40.54.  His time leads the SoCon and ranks 13th in the East Region and 16th nationally in the event.  

Wilkes led all collegiate finishers in the women’s 10,000, setting a new Furman program record of 33:20.08.  The Salem, Va., native leads the SoCon in this event and is ranked ninth in the East Region and 12th in the country.  

Furman will compete at the Duke Invitational and Asheville Bulldog Invite, April 10-12. 

The schedule for Furman softball’s three-game weekend series versus UNC Greensboro at Pepsi Stadium has been altered due to inclement weather. The Southern Conference showdown will now begin with a single game on Friday at 6 p.m.

For the second week in a row, the threat of rain and wet conditions on Sunday forced the schedule change. Following Friday’s game, the series will conclude with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday.

Furman athletics and Taymar Sales U have signed a multi-year extension for the firm to continue overseeing ticket sales while adding ticket-operations expertise. 

Furman represents the 10th client school to expand its services with Taymar and becomes the firm’s 13th client in the ticket operations space.  Taymar added an additional team member, Jack Doran, in the fall during basketball season to advise and maximize revenue as Timmons Arena, the school’s on-campus, multipurpose facility, undergoes a $40 million renovation.

No. 39 Furman defeated Mercer, 6-1, Tuesday in midweek Southern Conference women’s tennis at Mickel Tennis Center. 

With the victory, the Paladins improve to 14-3 overall and 3-0 in league play, while Mercer drops to 6-12 overall and 2-3 in the SoCon.

Furman swept the doubles matches to score the opening point.  Seniors Ellie Schulson and Sara Snyder, who rank 72nd nationally, blanked Marina Quinones and Ines Homberg, 6-0, at flight one, and senior Jess Dawson and sophomore Macy Hitchcock recorded a 6-3 advantage over Marie Bannmeyer and Dzhastina Mikhnova at flight two.  In the number three contest, seniors Alexa Griffith and Grace Thomas defeated Jelena Gojkovic and Tea Zivic, 6-1.

The Paladins won five singles matches in straight sets.  Senior Marissa Pennings entered the lineup at flight two, where she beat Emilia Cosatto, 6-3, 6-2, and Dawson held off Mikhnova, 6-3, 7-5, at flight three.  At number four, Schulson topped Zivic, 6-3, 6-3, and at number five, Hitchcock blew past Bannmeyer, 6-2, 6-1.  Thomas posted a 6-3, 6-4 victory versus Gojkovic at flight six. 

The Bears scored at flight one singles, where Quinones came from behind to defeat Snyder, 1-6, 7-6(2), 1-0(10-6).

Furman will travel to Birmingham, Ala., to take on Samford Saturday at noon.

Freshman Eva Ringwald (+8) tied for 16th to lead the Furman women’s golf team Tuesday to conclude the Coach Mo Classic at St. John’s Golf and Country Club in Saint Augustine, Fla.  

The Paladins co-hosted the tournament with North Florida in honor of Furman alum Mo Geasualdi, who is a teaching professional at St. John’s and is a tremendous teacher and junior golf leader.

Ringwald, a native of Aidlingen, Germany, teed off on No. 10 in the shotgun start and birdied No. 12.  After making the turn, she recorded four birdies on the front, with consecutive birdies on No. 7 and No. 8 near the end of the round, to finish the day with an even 72

Sophomore Audrey Ryu (+12) carded a 77 in the final round to tie for 30th, while freshman Jenna Madden (+15) scored a 77 with a birdie on No. 8 to tie for 47th.

Natasha Kiel (-3) of Purdue won individual medalist honors by one stroke after posting a three-round total of 68-71-74=213 to lead the 39th-ranked Boilermakers (+13) to the team title. Furman (+45) finished tenth.

Furman will compete at the Southern Conference Championship, April 14-16, in Columbia.

Health update: I still have to be careful regarding my abdomen and the emergency surgery of Jan. 2, but things continue to get better. For instance, I’ve stopped having to go to the bathroom during the night.

On the other hand, I have vivid dreams, usually on a specific subject. All last night, I was at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It involved getting from one place to another in my present condition. In order to get out of the sprawling place, last night I left a golf cart abandoned, and I awakened thinking an old friend was really going to be angry. Then, once I climbed out of bed and got my bearings straight, I felt better once I realized it was just a dream, and there was no need to call my friend and apologize. This happens almost every morning.

On Wednesday, as is my habit, I was reading a book at a local establishment while waiting for my food. A fellow sitting next to me informed that he had read every single book in the local library. I said, well, that’s nice. He went on to tell me he was a speed reader.

Then I made the mistake of asking him who his favorite writer was, and he said that he liked them all. Okay. From that point on, his goal seemed to be talking non-stop so that it was difficult for me to read. It considerably hindered the speed of my reading, but I didn’t want to encourage him, so I didn’t say anything.

Laurens District 55 High School is one of few sports venues where a fan can go to a softball game to hear John Wayne and George Jones.

Before every Raider home game, Wayne leads the Pledge of Allegiance and Jones sings the national anthem.

At LDHS, The Duke and The Possum live. Personally, I think this, like love, is a many splendored thing.

One of my favorite things about Laurens baseball and softball games is the hot dogs.

Buy my books. A lot of them are on Amazon. Most of them are fiction. This website satisfies my need for real life.

Crazy of Natural Causes is about a coach who is nearly killed in an automobile accident, gets religion and finds out there’s not much religion in those who preach it for money. Forgive Us Our Trespasses is a tale of small-town corruption.

Lightning in a Bottle and Life Gets Complicated are about rebellious stock car racer Barrie Jarman.