Women's Tennis | 4/20/2017 5:24:00 PM

Championship Central

Rock Hill, S.C.----The top-seeded and 33rd-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs open SAC Tournament play Friday afternoon, taking on fourth-seeded Anderson University in the semifinals of the 2017 South Atlantic Conference women's tennis tournament at 1 p.m. Wingate enters postseason play at 16-3 overall after going a perfect 11-0 in SAC play. The 'Dogs are ranked fourth in the NCAA Southeast Region poll. The Trojans are 18-4 overall, going 9-2 in league play.

Wingate has won each of the last seven regular season SAC titles, rolling off 59 consecutive conference victories while winning 70 of its last 71 league contests overall. Wingate has gone undefeated in league play in each of the last five seasons. In addition to the regular season success, the Bulldogs have also won four of the last six SAC championships. Wingate won titles in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015.

Wingate had seven players earn league recognition Wednesday afternoon, while Michael Cabana was named the SAC Coach of the Year for the seventh straight time. Sophomore Claudia De Andreis (Milan, Italy) and freshman Elena Pellegrini (Livorno, Italy) both earned second team All-SAC singles honors. The 2016 SAC Freshman of the Year, De Andreis is 8-8 at number one singles for the Bulldogs this year, going 6-4 against league opponents. Pellegrini is 14-1 in singles play during her freshman season, with 13 victories coming at number three singles. She also has a victory at number one singles. Pellegrini is 9-0 against conference opponents on the year. Her lone setback this season came against NCAA Division I foe Radford. Her 14-0 record against Division II opposition has seen the freshman drop only one set all year.

All three doubles teams earned league honors. Junior Maria Garcia (San Carlos, Venezuela) and Oroma Womeodu (Memphis, Tenn.) have teamed up to post a 13-5 record on the season, going 9-4 at number one doubles and 4-1 at two doubles to earn second team honors. The duo is 7-3 against SAC opponents on the season. The doubles team of senior Andrea Ternera (Bogota, Colombia) and sophomore Sydney Homan (Huntsville, Ala.) has compiled a 9-3 record on the season, playing all 12 matches at number two doubles to earn second team all-conference accolades. The duo is 7-1 against SAC opposition on the year.

De Andreis and senior Layla Tanik (Raleigh, N.C.) are 8-2 on the season, with all 10 matches coming at number three doubles, earning honorable mention All-SAC honors. The duo has registered a 5-1 mark against SAC opposition.

Ternera has picked up seven victories at two singles, going 5-6 in league play. Womeodu is 13-5 on the year, with six wins coming at four singles. She is 8-2 in league play. Tanik is 18-0 on the season, dropping only one set all year. The senior finished her SAC career with a 43-1 record against league opponents. Homan is 16-2 on the season, with eight of those victories coming at six singles. The sophomore is 10-0 in league play.

Wingate and Anderson met in early March, with the Bulldogs rallying for a 5-4 road victory. Homan and Ternera won at two doubles, but the Trojans picked up wins at one and three doubles to take a 2-1 lead. Anderson won at number one and two singles to go on top 4-1, but victories from Womeodu, Tanik, Homan and freshman Maria Ostoja (Split, Croatia) at three through six singles gave the 'Dogs a 5-4 victory. Anderson finished in a three-way tie for second place, with the Trojans, Queens and Tusculum all going 9-2 in league play, behind the 11-0 Bulldogs.

Anderson is in the SAC semifinals thanks to a 5-2 victory over Carson-Newman in Thursday's quarterfinals. The winner of the Wingate-Anderson match advances to the championship match Saturday at 12 p.m. in Rock Hill. The other semifinal match features number two seed Queens and third-seeded Tusculum.

WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Wingate University, consistently ranked as a top 10 "best value" in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,200 students on three campuses in Wingate, Charlotte and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 35 minors, 12 career concentrations, nine pre-professional programs, master's degrees in accounting, business, education, physician assistant studies and sport management and doctorates in education, pharmacy and physical therapy.
 
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 10 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 88 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate is number one in this millennium with 88 Academic All-America® honorees. Wingate is tops among all SAC schools with 97 lifetime Academic All-America® picks. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.