Women's Tennis | 2/26/2016 2:57:00 PM

Skillman, N.J.----The Wingate University women's tennis team remains nationally ranked in the latest release of the Oracle/Intercollegiate Tennis Association NCAA Division II top 50 poll. The Bulldog women are currently ranked 35th nationally and fifth in the Southeast Regional standings.
 
"I think it is an honor to be ranked where we are currently," Wingate head women's tennis coach Michael Cabana says. "We have a long way to go still to keep ourselves in the national conversation and even within our conference."
 
Wingate is currently 3-3 overall at this point in the early season. The Bulldogs opened South Atlantic Conference play with a win over Lincoln Memorial. They will continue conference action for the next four games on their schedule.
 
"I hope this will motivate the ladies," Cabana says. "We need to start playing with more grit and fire than we have early on this season. We have been too flat in my opinion and it has cost us and will continue to cost us if we don't continue to improve."
 
Wingate was 16-5 overall last season with a 16-2 record against NCAA Division II opposition. The Bulldogs went 11-0 in the SAC, capturing the SAC regular season and tournament titles. Wingate has won four of the last five SAC tournament championships. The 'Dogs have also won five consecutive regular season titles, giving Wingate nine SAC championships in the last five seasons. The Bulldogs have made a SAC-best 13 NCAA tournament appearances as well.
 
Wingate makes its first SAC road trip this weekend, facing Brevard Friday (2:30 p.m.) and Mars Hill Saturday (12 noon). The Bulldogs return home Monday, taking advantage of Leap Day to face Catawba (2 p.m.).
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Wingate University, consistently ranked as a top 10 "best value" in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,100 students on three campuses in Wingate, Charlotte and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 37 minors and career concentrations, numerous pre-professional programs, master's degrees in business, accounting, education, physician assistant studies and sport management and doctorates in pharmacy, physical therapy and education.
 
With a 15 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 nine years. For more information, go to www.wingate.edu.
 
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing colleges in the 2000's with 82 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate's 82 Academic All-America® honorees are number one during this millennium. Wingate's 91 lifetime Academic All-America® picks are tops among all SAC schools. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.
 
(Wingate University athletics intern Phillip Pruett, Jr. contributed this article. Pruett is senior at Temple University, majoring in Sport and Recreation Management.)