Sumter, SC- The 2020-21 season has offered so many firsts for the program and the first day of the Conference Carolinas tournament was no different. In the morning, Converse defeated a sensational Barton team to advance to the second round. This was the first win in tournament history for the Valkyries. The win also set up a rematch with Belmont Abbey, the last team to defeat the Valkyries before their 7 match win streak began.
              After a brief rest after the battle with Barton, Converse took the court 90 minutes later to take on Belmont Abbey. Converse opened up with a doubles victory, gaining a 1-0 advantage in the match. Belmont Abbey quickly captured two singles points to go up 2-1. The remaining four matches were coin flips. Three of the remaining matches were in decisive 3^rd sets, one even going to a tiebreaker in the 3^rd, and Converse led 7-6 5-5 at the other. Belmont Abbey was able to secure 3^rd set victories at the number 1 and 2 positions to secure the victory, sending the Valkyries home in a classic matchup between contending teams.
              "We played some great tennis today against two really great teams. Coach Salomon always has a good program and they are one of those teams we need to get past if we are going to reach our goals. Hats off to them. They earned this victory. We played really well. They did too. I am so proud of the fight of our team and we will remember the feelings of today. The ultimate joy in the first round and heartbreak and tears after this one. I honestly cannot wait to get back to work with this group," Coach Poda said of the matchup. This year, Converse has fought so hard to shift the paradigm of the program. The Valkyries began the year as the pre-season number 7 in the conference and tied for 4^th place by the end of the season and went toe-to-toe with each of the semi-finalists in the tournament. Coach Poda finished by saying, "I still joke about that first meeting the team and I had together. We were on Zoom and they were all together, masked up and everything, and we started talking about goals. They told me they just wanted to make the tournament and I was like 'we don't want to win it?' I am positive they thought I was nuts at the time, but we were one of the teams with a shot. We are going to be one of those teams with a shot next year too if we keep improving and putting in the work. There are some great teams, but we can be one of those too. We have such a bright future ahead. I am so proud and thankful that I was given the opportunity to be at Converse and got to have these amazing young women. They are the greatest group of people I could have asked for to play for us and represent our program and University."