Pembroke, N.C.----The Wingate University women’s tennis team swept the three doubles matches and earned four straight-set singles victories to take a 7-2 triumph over the UNC Pembroke Braves on Tuesday afternoon at the UNCP Varsity Tennis Courts.

The setback marked the eighth-straight loss in the Wingate series for the host UNCP Braves (1-2 overall). The Wingate Bulldogs (3-1 overall) recorded their second-straight triumph over a Peach Belt Conference team after besting number 27 Augusta State University on the road to open the spring season.

Wingate’s number three doubles tandem of Morgan Winston and Olivia Poole got the scoring started on the day for the visitors as they topped Christian Minnick and Maricel Quintero by an 8-3 score. Ali Evers and Samantha Alschlager registered a similar 8-3 triumph over UNCP’s Mia Winterbottom and Madeline DiNunzio on court number two. Wingate’s Kara Stasikelis and Kelli Ferguson rallied from a 3-0 deficit on court number one to oust UNCP’s Jenna McGary and Hannah Herlocker by an 8-5 final.

Poole turned in a 6-1, 6-0 win over Quintero at number four singles to remain undefeated in intercollegiate dual match singles play. Ferguson followed shortly thereafter with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over DiNunzio at number five singles to give the team victory to the Bulldogs.

Wingate would use Winston’s 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 win over Herlocker on court number three, as well as Helen Goreski’s 6-1, 6-2 win over Christian Minnick at number six singles, to stretch its lead out to 7-0 on the team scoreboard.

UNC Pembroke earned two hard-fought victories at the top two singles positions. McGary rallied from a first-set loss to topple Stasikelis by scores of 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 10-6 on court number one to spoil the shutout for the Bulldogs. Winterbottom and Evers split their first two sets at number two singles before the UNCP sophomore prevailed 7-6, 6-7 (5-7), 10-6.

Wingate returns home Thursday, hosting Johnson C. Smith University in a 2 p.m. twin bill with the Bulldog men. UNCP will step back into conference play Friday when it battles North Georgia in a noon matchup in Pembroke.

(Special thanks to UNC Pembroke SID Todd Anderson for providing this story.)