Wingate University Athletics

Rock Hill, S.C.----The no. 2 seed Carson-Newman women's tennis team cashed in a 5-0 win over no. 3 seed Wingate University on Friday afternoon in the semifinals of the 2009 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Women's Tennis Tournament in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Friday's semifinal round win over the Bulldogs places the Eagles in the SAC Tournament Championship match to be played Saturday afternoon at 12 noon, while Wingate ends its conference tournament title run with a 12-8 record, one match shy of this year's SAC Championship match.

The Eagles began their 5-0 victory over Wingate on Saturday by sweeping doubles play. Carson-Newman's Amanda Bartlett and Taryn Cappadona won easily over Wingate's Kara Stasikelis and Hollyn Alberghini 8-0 in the no. 1 doubles match, while teammates Elizabeth Sneed and Cassie Moulton defeated the Bulldogs' Samantha Alschlager and Pierce Dillard 8-3 at no. 2 doubles.

Carson-Newman closed out doubles play with a narrow 9-7 win in the no. 3 position. C-N's Emily Sorah and Kylie Elliott edged opponents Zoe Hartas and Ewa Opala to take the momentum with a 3-0 lead at the break.

Following doubles play, Carson-Newman only needed two wins in the singles category to seal the deal. Elizabeth Sneed won over Wingate's Pierce Dillard in straight sets 6-0, 6-4 at no. 2 singles and Taryn Cappodona defeated WU's Hollyn Alberghini 6-0, 6-2 at no. 4 singles. With the match decided 5-0, no other matches were filed and the Eagles captured a spot in Saturday's championship match against Brevard College.

Now 12-2 on the year, the no. 2 seed Carson-Newman women will take their best shot at another SAC title Saturday afternoon when they square off against no. 4 seed Brevard College at 12 noon. The Tornados will enter their first South Atlantic Conference title match since becoming conference eligible for the SAC title in women's tennis this year.