Wednesday, 04/20/2011

EVERS AND CABANA EARN BIG SAC AWARDS TUESDAY;
FOUR BULLDOGS RECEIVE ALL-SAC HONORS IN WOMEN’S TENNIS
 
            Rock Hill, S.C.----Wingate University newcomer Ali Evers (Roswell, Ga.) is the 2011 South Atlantic Conference Freshman of the Year for women’s tennis, league officials announced Tuesday afternoon. Bulldog head coach Michael Cabana is the SAC women’s tennis Coach of the Year, as selected by the league’s 10 head coaches. Four Wingate student-athletes were named to the All-SAC first or second teams.
 
            Evers was named first team All-SAC, joining senior teammate Kara Stasikelis (Greer, S.C.). Freshmen Morgan Winston (Lawrenceville, Ga.) and Olivia Poole (Boca Raton, Fla.) were named to the second team.
 
            Evers was 15-5 overall in singles action (6-3 SAC) this year. She played 17 of her 20 matches this season at the number two singles flight. She compiled a 13-4 record at the number two position, while winning two of three matches at the number three position.
 
            Evers enters the Food Lion SAC tournament on a five-match singles winning streak. In doubles, Evers was 17-2 overall with junior partner Samantha Alschlager (Indian Trail, N.C.). The duo was 7-2 in SAC matches. Evers also won one doubles match with Stasikelis this year.
 
Stasikelis completes the grand slam, as she is a four-time All-SAC selection. She has played 79 of 79 matches as Wingate’s number one player. As a senior, she compiled a 12-8 overall singles record with a 6-3 SAC ledger. In doubles, Stasikelis and sophomore partner Kelli Ferguson (Concord, N.C.) posted an 11-8 mark with a 5-4 SAC record at the number one flight.
 
Winston spent the majority of the 2011 season at the number three singles spot. She was 16-4 overall, with a 7-2 record in SAC play. She was 15-2 at number three singles and 1-2 at number two singles. Winston’s nine SAC matches were played at the number three flight.
 
Poole will long remember her first Bulldog season, as she started her Wingate career with 18 consecutive singles victories. Poole played 20 matches at the number four singles flight, posting a team-best 19-1 overall record. Her only regular season loss was at Anderson (S.C.) University April 11. Poole and Winston played doubles together, compiling a 15-3 mark and a 6-2 SAC record. The pair was 14-3 at number three doubles and 1-0 at number two doubles.
 
            This year, Michael Cabana has led the Wingate women’s team to its second SAC regular season championship in school history. The Bulldogs’ last regular season title occurred in 2003. This year, Wingate is currently ranked number seven in the region and number 32 nationally. These rankings are the highest ever achieved by a Wingate women’s tennis team.
 
The Bulldogs were a perfect 9-0 in the SAC this year with four different players receiving SAC Player of the Week honors. On the courts, the 2011 Bulldogs have defeated two nationally-ranked teams: Augusta State (29) and Charleston, W.Va. (34). In Cabana’s first season with the Wingate women’s team, the Bulldogs finished seventh out of eight teams. The Bulldogs have moved up the charts during his five years, progressing from seventh to fifth to third (twice) to first.
 
Mars Hill College junior Erika Pinate (Caracas, Venezuela) is the 2011 SAC Player of the Year. Tusculum College senior Blake Thompson (Bristol, Tenn.) is the 2011 SAC Scholar-Athlete Award winner for women’s tennis.
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
            Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a private comprehensive university with more than 2,300 students on two campuses in Wingate and Matthews, North Carolina. The university offers 32 undergraduate majors, 36 minors and career concentrations, numerous pre-professional programs, graduate degrees in business, accounting, physician assistant studies and sports administration and doctorates in pharmacy and education.
 
            Wingate students gain the tools and support they need to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. The campus community offers in-class learning, out-of-class experiences, strong mentors, a competitive yet caring environment and rewarding community service opportunities for a complete educational experience.
 
            Bulldog student-athletes compete in 19 NCAA Division II sports. Wingate University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past four years.
 
            Wingate University is ranked number three among NCAA Division II Academic All-America® producing schools in the 2000’s with 38 honorees during this millennium. Only Pittsburg State (Kan.) University and Truman State (Mo.) University have produced more Academic All-America® honorees during this time period. Wingate’s 47 Academic All-America® honorees (lifetime) is tops among all SAC schools.
 
2011 SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE
WOMEN’S TENNIS ALL-SAC TEAMS
 
First Team
Lauren Trumbull, Anderson (S.C.)
Lindsay Hostetter, Brevard
Lindsay Shaeffer, Brevard
Leah Donoff, Lincoln Memorial
Sofia Lopez Mimendi, Lincoln Memorial
Erika Pinate, Mars Hill
Ali Evers, Wingate
Kara Stasikelis, Wingate
Second Team
Claire Dillman, Brevard
Taryn Cappadona, Carson-Newman
Kasia Zielinski, Catawba
Emily Mauser, Lenoir-Rhyne
Alexandra Granger, Lincoln Memorial
Tatiana Dualiby, Mars Hill
Blake Thompson, Tusculum
Morgan Winston, Wingate
Olivia Poole, Wingate
Player of the Year – Erika Pinate, Mars Hill
Freshman of the Year – Ali Evers, Wingate
Coach of the Year – Michael Cabana, Wingate
Scholar-Athlete – Blake Thompson, Tusculum