BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- On Saturday, the Samford University women's tennis team will play for a special cause as the Bulldogs host Furman in their 2015 Southern Conference opener at 10:30 a.m. (CDT) and will also promote multiple sclerosis awareness.
 
Similar to the Samford men's match on March 13, there will be a table set up with brochures and information about multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis is an extremely serious disease that affects more than 2.3 million people worldwide.
 
At Saturday's match, there will also be the opportunity to donate to the National MS Society by helping to sponsor the Samford Walk MS representatives. In addition, there will be lemonade and cookies available for a three-dollar donation to the Samford Walk MS team.
 
The MS Walk is an annual event with walk teams who raise money to help with MS research and to help supply resources to those who are already battling MS.
 
About the National MS Society
The Society helps raise awareness and funds to drive research towards finding a cure for MS. It also helps to address the challenges that people with MS face in everyday life. Along with funding research, the society also has assisted over one million people living with MS to have the resources they need to help fight the disease.
 
SAMFORD vs. FURMAN: THE FACTS
The Samford University women's tennis team will begin play in its 2015 SoCon schedule Saturday at 10:30 a.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs welcome the Furman Paladins to the Pete Hanna Center for a critical league-opening contest to be played at the Samford Tennis Center.
 
Samford (6-7, 0-0 SoCon) enters the matchup with a full head of steam after earning a 4-3 victory over UMass on March 17.
 
Against the Minutewomen, in a non-conference contest held at the College of Charleston Tennis Courts in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, the Bulldogs swept the all-important doubles competition and then received key singles victories from Stephanie N'tcha, Iva Parapunova and Savannah Wood to close out the 4-3 triumph.
 
Samford's N'tcha registered a perfect 2-0 record last week as she tallied a pair of victories in the Bulldogs' key non-conference matchup against perennial Northeast Region powerhouse UMass.
 
In singles play, Samford's feisty senior from Abomey-Calavi, Benin, notched a dominant, straight-set win over the Minutewomen's Aarzoo Malik, 6-0, 6-3, on court No. 1. N'tcha earlier teamed with junior Carita Moolman in the No. 1 doubles contest and set the tone in the match by recording a thrilling 8-6 victory over UMass' pairing of Ana Yrazusta and Carol Benito.
 
Samford has struggled when playing on the road this season, but owns a solid 5-2 record when competing at home at the Samford Tennis Center.
 
Furman (4-10, 0-2 SoCon) heads into Saturday's conference showdown with hopes of bouncing back from a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to Winthrop on Sunday.
 
In the Paladins' most recent matchup, Alice Garcia held on for a 6-0, 2-6, 6-2 win over senior Alex Moreno-Kaste on court No. 2 to break open a 3-3 tie as Winthrop slipped past Furman, 4-3, at the Winthrop Memorial Tennis Center in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
 
The Eagles won two of three doubles matches to claim the opening doubles point. Garcia teamed with Mariana Humberg to down Moreno-Kaste and sophomore Ansley Speaks, 8-4, on court No. 1, and Tijana Uzelac and Ekin Gunaysu beat sophomore Blair Martin and freshman Alejandra Gil, 8-6, at No. 2. 
 
The Paladins were victorious in the No. 3 doubles matchup as sophomore Karlee Bryde and freshman Harper Caswell defeated Camille Amraini and Monica Aguado, 8-0.
 
Furman picked up three singles wins Sunday as Speaks downed Gunaysu, 6-1, 6-4, in the No. 1 singles battle, while Caswell recorded a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Aguado on court No. 5. Gil topped Amrani, 6-1, 6-2, on court No. 6.
 
Winthrop added singles wins on courts No. 3 and No. 4 to set up the decisive contest on court No. 2.
 
IN THE LAST MEETING
In last season's annual matchup between Samford and Furman, No. 71-ranked Bulldogs suffered their first defeat in nearly two months as they dropped a 4-3 decision on the road against 68^th-ranked Furman.
 
With the hard-fought loss, Samford had its season-best winning streak snapped at 10-consecutive matches.
 
The Bulldogs lost the doubles point last season and then fell short in the first two singles matches as Furman jumped out to an early 3-0 lead.
 
Despite their initial disadvantage, the Bulldogs never lost heart and used singles victories from Yasmeen Ebada, Kristin Lewis and Emily Mallory to even the overall score of the team match at 3-3.
 
The Bulldogs' Mallory notched a straight-set victory on court No. 5, 6-3, 6-4, over Furman's Kelly Sullivan to even the score at 3-3.
 
At that point, all attention turned to the No. 6 singles contest where Samford's Lauren Caballero was squaring off against the Paladins' Blair Martin. The winner of the matchup would secure a 4-3 team victory for her squad.
 
In a back-and-forth, hard-fought contest, Martin held off Caballero in the first set, 7-6(4), before earning a 6-3 win in the second stanza, 6-3.
 
Martin's singles victory on court No. 6 solidified Furman's 4-3 team win and handed Samford its first loss since Feb. 9.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT
Following Saturday's 2015 conference opener against Furman, the Samford University women's tennis team will next be in action Sunday at noon (CDT) as the Bulldogs welcome the Wofford Terriers to the Pete Hanna Center for another critical early-season league matchup.