Brevard, Wingate Advance In 2010 Food Lion SAC Women’s Tennis Championship

ROCK HILL, SC - The No. 5 seed Brevard College women's tennis team advanced to Friday's semifinal round of the 2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Women's Tennis Tournament by defeating No. 4 seed Carson-Newman College 6-2 in Thursday's opening round play at the Rock Hill Tennis Center in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

The Tornados took a 2-1 advantage following doubles play with victories at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. Carson-Newman's Amanda Bartlett and Taryn Cappadona captured an 8-5 win over BC's Lindsay Shaeffer and Kim Dixon in no. 1 doubles. Brevard's Lindsay Hostetter and Claire Dillman evened the match when they won easily over the Lady Eagles' Elizabeth Sneed and Kylie Elliott 8-0 at the No. 2 position, while the Tornados' Kayley Duval and Jennifer Nyman took an 8-2 win over Carson-Newman's Stephanie Goode and Megan Wilson at No. 3 position.

Brevard's Lindsay Hostetter struck first blood in No. 2 singles play when she captured a straight sets victory of 6-1, 6-1 over Carson-Newman's Elizabeth Sneed to give the Tornados a 3-1 lead in the match. A short time later, Carson-Newman's Amanda Bartlett made things interesting when she defeated BC's Lindsay Shaeffer 6-4, 6-3 at the No. 1 singles position to close the gap to 3-2 Brevard.

The rest of the match belonged to the Tornados. Claire Dillman captured victory in No. 3 singles to put the BC one win away from the semifinals when she knocked off the Lady Eagles' Kylie Elliott in straight sets, 6-0, 6-4. However, it was Kayley Duval that sealed the win for Brevard in No. 4 singles when she won 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 over Carson-Newman's Taryn Cappadona. Only seconds later, teammate Kim Dixon won over the Lady Eagles Megan Wilson 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 at the No. 5 position to give Brevard its final 6-2 margin of victory.

Thursday's win over Carson-Newman moves the Tornados to 14-5 on the season and into the tournament semifinals Friday against No. 1 seed Lincoln Memorial University at 9:00 a.m. "Jean has a great program," said Brevard Head Coach Paul Thomson. "The Brevard College vs. Carson-Newman College match has become a great rivalry with her at the helm. We have been close in the past and today was a great win for our program."

Carson-Newman ends the year with an 11-4 overall record and most likely will not qualify for the NCAA regional tourament that begins May 3-5. "We knew coming in that it would be a battle," said Lady Eagles Head Coach Jean Love. "Brevard out outplayed us today. My hat is off to Coach Thomson and his team."

The 2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tennis Tournament is free to the public.

No. 5 Brevard 6, No. 4 Carson-Newman 2
Apr 22, 2010 at Rock Hill, S.C.

Singles competition
1. Amanda Bartlett (C-N) def. Lindsay Shaeffer (BCW) 6-4, 6-3
2. Lindsay Hostetter (BCW) def. Elizabeth Sneed (C-N) 6-1, 6-1
3. Claire Dillman (BCW) def. Kylie Elliott (C-N) 6-0, 6-4
4. Kayley Duval (BCW) def. Taryn Cappadona (C-N) 4-6, 6-4, 6-0
5. Kim Dixon (BCW) def. Megan Wilson (C-N) 2-6, 6-3, 7-5
6. Stephanie Goode (C-N) vs. Elise Labus (BCW) 5-2, unfinished

Doubles competition
1. Amanda Bartlett/Taryn Cappadona (C-N) def. Lindsay Shaeffer/Kim Dixon (BCW) 8-5
2. Lindsay Hostetter/Claire Dillman (BCW) def. Elizabeth Sneed/Kylie Elliott (C-N) 8-0
3. Kayley Duval/Jennifer Nyman (BCW) def. Stephanie Goode/Megan Wilson (C-N) 8-2

Match Notes:
No. 5 Brevard 14-5
No. 4 Carson-Newman 11-5
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (,2,1,3,4,5)
2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Women's Tennis Tournament
No. 5 Brevard advances to play No. 1 LMU Friday at 9 a.m.
No. 4 and No. 5 singles finished almost simultaneously.
T-3:30

Wingate 5, Catawba 1

ROCK HILL, SC - The No. 3 seed Wingate University Bulldog women's tennis team knocked off No. 6 seed Catawba College 5-1 on Thursday morning in opening round play of this year's SAC Women's Tennis Tournament.

The win allows the Bulldogs to advance to Friday's semifinals of the 2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament being held at the Rock Hill Tennis Center in Rock Hill, South Carolina. "I thought we got off to a slow start in doubles and had to improve our performance or we were going home," said Wingate Head Coach Michael Cabana. "I was happy with our singles play. We regained our focus and composure, which helped us pull out the win."

Thursday's victory over Catawba improves the Bulldogs to 13-6 overall while the Indians falls to 12-15 with the loss.

The match started with the Bulldogs winning two of three in doubles play. Although Wingagte's Kara Staskelis and Kelli Ferguson were defeated in No. 1 doubles by Catawba's Kasia Zielinski and Vanessa Silva, 8-6. Wingate's Samantha Alshlager and Hollyn Aberghini picked up a win over the Indians Steffi Cook and Candace Hall (9-7) in the No. 2 postion while teammates Ewa Opala and Helen Goreski also captured a 9-7 win at the No. 3 position to take a 2-1 lead in the match at the break.

Singles play was dominated by the Bulldogs with Wingate capturing victory at the No. 1, No. 4 and No. 5 positions. Kara Staskelis won in straight sets over Catawba's Kasia Sielinski 6-1, 6-2 at the No. 1 position, while teammate Helen Goreski defeated Catawba's Candace Hall in No. 4 singles 6-3, 6-1, and Hollyn Aberghini won over the Indians' Maggie McKee 6-2, 6-4 at the No. 5 position. All other matches were unfinished once the match had been decided.

The Wingate women's tennis team now prepares for Friday's SAC semifinal match with No. 2 seed Tusculum College at 9:00 a.m. "I'm excited about today's win and look forward to tomorrow's match against Tusculum," said Cabana. "However, I think we need to have a much better start than today if we're are going to get to the conference championship on Saturday."

No. 3 Wingate 5, No. 6 Catawba 1
Apr 22, 2010 at Rock Hill S.C.

Singles competition
1. Kara Staskelis (WU) def. Kasia Zielinski (CATAWBA) 6-1, 6-2
2. Kelli Ferguson (WU) vs. Steffi Cook (CATAWBA) 5-6, unfinished
3. Samantha Alschlager (WU) vs. Vanessa Silva (CATAWBA) 2-6, 2-3, unfinished
4. Helen Goreski (WU) def. Candace Hall (CATAWBA) 6-3, 6-1
5. Hollyn Aberghini (WU) def. Maggie McKee (CATAWBA) 6-2, 6-4
6. Ewa Opala (WU) vs. Jennifer Damron (CATAWBA) unfinished

Doubles competition
1. Kasia Zielinski/Vanessa Silva (CATAWBA) def. Kara Staskelis/Kelli Ferguson (WU) 8-6
2. Samantha Alschlager/Hollyn Aberghini (WU) def. Steffi Cook/Candace Hall (CATAWBA) 9-7
3. Ewa Opala/Helen Goreski (WU) def. Jennifer Damron/Maggie McKee (CATAWBA) 9-7

Match Notes:
No. 6 Catawba 12-15
No. 3 Wingate 13-6
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (,1,4,5)
2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Women's Tennis Tournament
No. 3 Wingate advances to play No. 2 Tusculum Friday at 9 a.m.
T-2:50