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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- On Friday, the No. 73-ranked Samford University women's tennis team earned a trip to Saturday's Southern Conference Tournament championship match by registering a lopsided 4-0 victory over the homestanding Chattanooga Mocs in a semifinal-round contest held at the Champions Club.
 
With the victory, Samford (20-2) extended its winning streak to eight-consecutive matches and reached the prestigious 20-win plateau for only the second time in school history. The Bulldogs also improved their record against arch-rival Chattanooga (18-5) to 2-0 this season.
 
On Saturday, the Bulldogs will square off against the No. 4-seeded Elon Phoenix in the SoCon Tournament championship match at 1 p.m. (CDT) for an automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA Tournament. In Friday's second semifinal contest, Elon knocked off regular-season champion and No. 61-ranked Furman, 4-3.
 
Earlier this season, Samford played host to the Phoenix on April 5 and posted a 5-2 victory at the Samford Tennis Center. The winner of Saturday's SoCon Championship will advance to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Samford's last appearance in the NCAA Tournament was 2008 in Head Coach David Vest's inaugural season at the helm of the Bulldogs' women's tennis team.
 
On Friday, in Samford's 4-0 SoCon Tournament semifinal win over Chattanooga, the Bulldogs rallied back to claim the doubles point and then received straight-set singles victories from Stephanie N'tcha, Yasmeen Ebada and Emily Mallory.
 
Mallory, Samford's dominant senior native of Louisville, Ky., clinched the overall team triumph on court No. 5, as she recorded a 7-6 (5), 6-1 win over the Mocs' Claire Mulyadi. With her victory, Mallory extended her SoCon-best winning streak to 10-consecutive matches and improved to 16-2 in singles play this season.
 
Additionally, the Bulldogs' N'tcha moved to 17-4 in dual-match singles competition, while Ebada improved her team-best record to 20-1, marking the first time in school history that a player has reached the vaunted 20-win plateau in a single spring.
 
Samford's doubles win Friday proved to be the turning point in the match.
 
The Bulldogs' No. 3 tandem comprised of Jessica Northcutt and N'tcha posted in a dominant 8-2 victory over Chattanooga's pairing of Kelsey Coots and Mulyadi, but then the Mocs bounced back with an 8-5 triumph on court No. 1.
 
In the decisive No. 2 doubles contest, Chattanooga's tandem comprised of Kayla Jones and Katie Polk jumped out to a hefty two-game lead in the match, but then Samford's  combination of Carita Moolman and Ebada rallied back to secure an 8-7 (4) victory and claim the all-important doubles point.
 
On Saturday at 1 p.m. (CDT), the Samford University women's tennis team will square off against the Elon Phoenix at the Champions Club in the title match of the 2014 SoCon Tournament.
 
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Box Score
Samford Stats