Skillman, N.J.----For the third year in a row, both the Wingate University men’s and women’s tennis teams have found homes in the final Campbell/Intercollegiate Tennis Association NCAA Division II top 50 poll of the 2013 season. The men’s team finishes the year ranked 45th, while the women’s team charts tied for 50th.

“I am very excited about our teams being recognized on the national level at the end of the season,” Wingate head men’s and women’s tennis coach Michael Cabana says. “We put in much hard work throughout the course of the year…it feels good to see it paying off with an end-of-year national ranking. (We know this means) we have to continue to work hard to improve and to strive to be even better.”

The Wingate men’s tennis team finished the season with a 16-11 overall record, while posting a 7-2 record in South Atlantic Conference play. The Bulldogs earned the number three seed in the Food Lion SAC tournament. They defeated number six seed Mars Hill 5-0 in the quarter-finals and number two seed Tusculum 5-4 in the semi-finals. Number four seed Lincoln Memorial edged Wingate 5-4 in the title match.

Bulldog freshman Kennedy Cancelado (Miami Springs, Fla.) was honored as an All-SAC first team singles player. Cancelado and junior Ryan Forbes (Charlotte, N.C.) were named to the All-SAC doubles second team. Forbes has played in three consecutive SAC tourney championship matches.

Cabana was named SAC Coach of the Year as the Wingate women’s team compiled a 19-6 overall record and a spotless 9-0 record in conference play. Including this 2013 season, the Bulldogs are 26-1 the last three years in conference play while going undefeated during the 2011 and 2013 seasons.

The Bulldogs won the Food Lion SAC tournament for the third straight season. This year, Wingate topped Anderson 5-3in the title tilt. The SAC championship victory gave the Bulldogs 12 straight triumphs. Senior Kelli Ferguson (Concord, N.C.) won the deciding singles match in the SAC tournament title game; she was named the SAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second straight season. Ferguson was also named to the 2013 Capital One Academic All-District III women’s at-large team.

Sophomore Tiffany Williams (Cary, N.C.) was named the SAC tournament Most Valuable Player. The Bulldogs battled number six Columbus State in the first round of the NCAA tournament; the host Cougars claimed a 5-0 decision to end Wingate’s season. Bulldog junior Ali Evers (Roswell, Ga.) and sophomore Becca Thomas (Alpharetta, Ga.) were named first team All-SAC honors in both singles and doubles. Wingate junior Morgan Winston (Lawrenceville, Ga.) was voted All-SAC second team in singles.
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Wingate University, ranked as the 6th “best value” in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves nearly 2,700 students on three campuses in Wingate, Matthews and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 37 minors and career concentrations, numerous pre-professional programs, graduate degrees in business, accounting, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration, and doctorates in pharmacy, physical therapy and education.
 
With a 14 to 1 student/teacher ratio, Wingate students gain the tools and support needed to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. To view current news, video and story ideas, visit www.youtube.com/wingateuniversity.
 
In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 22 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past six years.
 
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing private colleges in the 2000’s with 52 selections. Among North Carolina’s colleges and universities, Wingate’s 52 Academic All-America® honorees is second (to Duke University) during this millennium. Wingate’s 61 lifetime Academic All-America® picks are tops among all SAC schools. For more information, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.
 
(Wingate University sports information student intern Josh Williams contributed this article. Williams is a rising senior Sport Management major from Mooresville, N.C.)