Mary Hitchcock Furman Women's tennis
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GREENVILLE, S.C. — Paladin women’s tennis player Macy Hitchcock will represent Furman and the Southern Conference at a press conference in Washington, D.C., with the Senate sponsors of the Protect College Sports Act on Monday, Sept. 14.
Hitchcock is a health sciences major from Eaton, Ohio. During the 2026 spring season, she led Furman to a 17-5 overall record, a perfect 7-0 league mark, and the SoCon regular season title. Hitchcock was voted to the All-SoCon second team for singles for the second-consecutive year after recording an 11-5 overall singles record, including a 9-3 mark at flight three. In SoCon matches, Hitchcock was undefeated with a 7-0 record, all at number three. An ITA Scholar-Athlete, she was named to the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll, the SoCon Academic All-Conference Team, and the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team.
Ahead of Monday’s press conference, Hitchcock shared her thoughts in an Op/Ed on the Protect College Sports Act:
Ever since I was a little girl, I have always dreamed of competing in tennis at the college level. When I came to Furman as a freshman in the fall of 2023, this dream came true, and I found that having my teammates, who would become my best friends, right beside me while living this dream was better than I could have ever imagined.
In addition to my athletic goals, I dreamed of being a part of a bigger community, and being a student-athlete at Furman has given me the opportunity to achieve both these dreams. By my junior year, I was selected as president of our Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, which has given me a chance to make a lasting impact on the school, just as much as the school has impacted me.
College has given me a chance for both change and growth, and Furman has undoubtedly changed me for the better. I’ve become a much better person and have learned how to lead, how to communicate, and how to use my voice to advocate for others. Next week I plan to use my voice to advocate for the Protect College Sports Act. Because of what college athletics has given me, I feel responsible to speak out about the future of college athletics.
College athletics as a whole and the rules around it are changing almost daily. It’s so important that we begin to stabilize college athletics, and the Protect College Sports Act gives us the perfect opportunity to do that.
One key aspect of the act is the protection of women’s and Olympic sports. These non-revenue sports deserve the same opportunities to compete as the revenue sports. This act will ensure that women’s athletic programs have comparable standards as men’s athletic programs when it comes to medical care, lodging, meals, rest, transportation, and athletic facilities for championship events, but it also will protect scholarship opportunities and roster spots for these sports programs.
I have been fortunate to experience first-hand what college athletics can provide, and for me personally, being able to call myself a Furman athlete and fulfill my childhood dream is one of the accomplishments of which I am most proud. I want the little girl who is dreaming today of playing college tennis to have the same chance to live that dream in the future.
Credit: Furmanpaladins.com Julie Pare
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