Women's Tennis | 4/21/2016 12:54:00 PM

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Brevard, N.C.----The defending South Atlantic Conference Tournament champion Wingate University Bulldogs are the number one seed in this week's SAC women's tennis tournament. After an opening-round bye, the Bulldogs will face fourth-seeded Newberry College in Friday morning's semifinal match.

Wingate is 15-5 overall after going 11-0 in the SAC. The 39th-ranked Bulldogs won their sixth consecutive regular season SAC title, going undefeated in league play for the fourth straight year. The 'Dogs have won 48 straight SAC matches and 59 of their last 60 overall. Wingate won last year's SAC Tournament title, while notching championships in four of the last five years.

The Bulldogs are led by SAC Freshman of the Year Claudia De Andreis (Milan, Italy). She earned first team All-SAC singles and doubles honors, going 13-7 at number one singles with an 8-3 record against conference opponents. De Andreis has won nine of her last 10 matches at number one singles, including a 6-4, 6-3 win over Newberry's Elizabeth Williamson, who is ranked 25th in the nation.

De Andreis teamed with sophomore Maria Garcia (San Carlos, Venezuela) at number two doubles for Wingate's last 10 matches, going 9-1 at two doubles to earn first team All-SAC honors. Garcia earned second team All-SAC doubles accolades during her freshman season in 2015, while also picking up MVP honors at the SAC Tournament. De Andreis and Garcia are 6-1 in conference play. They have reeled off seven consecutive victories entering the SAC Tournament, including an 8-4 win against No. 42 Queens.

Wingate's number three doubles team of junior Layla Tanik (Raleigh, N.C.) and freshman Sydney Homan (Huntsville, Ala.) have compiled an 8-1 record, going 6-1 in league play. The duo has won seven consecutive matches. Tanik earned honorable mention All-SAC honors this season. She is a team-best 15-3 on the season, going undefeated in league play, notching an 11-0 record without dropping a set against a SAC opponent. She enters the SAC Tournament on a 10-match winning streak. Tanik has compiled a 50-11 career singles mark, going 32-1 in league play.

Wingate senior Caroline Holland (Spartanburg, S.C.) has notched a 13-7 record in singles play this season, going 9-2 against SAC opponents at number four singles. Homan has piled up 15 wins in her freshman season, posting a 9-2 record against league opposition. Sophomore Oroma Womeodu (Memphis, Tenn.) is 7-4 in SAC play, while posting an 8-6 overall record at number three singles.

Wingate and Newberry met earlier this month, with the Bulldogs prevailing 6-3. De Andreis and Garcia rolled to an 8-1 win at two doubles, while Tanik and Homan cruised to an 8-2 victory at three doubles. Womeodu and Andrea Ternera (Bogota, Colombia) dropped a tight 9-8 match at one doubles, losing 7-4 in the tiebreaker. De Andreis and Ternera picked up straight-set wins at one and two singles for the Bulldogs, while Tanik won 6-2, 6-2 at five singles. Homan wrapped things up with a 6-0, 6-0 victory at six singles. The Wolves are 16-6 overall after going 7-4 in SAC play. Newberry defeated fifth-seeded Lincoln Memorial 5-4 in Thursday's quarterfinal match.

The winner of the Wingate-Newberry match will meet the winner of the Queens vs. Tusculum contest in Saturday's championship match. The Bulldogs picked up 5-4 wins over Queens and Tusculum this season. Wingate and Queens met in last year's SAC title match, with the 'Dogs prevailing 5-3. Saturday's championship match will take place at 9 a.m.