Lincoln Memorial, Tusculum Advance To Food Lion SAC Women’s Tennis Championship

ROCK HILL, SC - The No. 1 seed Lincoln Memorial University women's tennis team won the right to play in their first South Atlantic Conference Tournament Championship match when they defeated No. 5 seed Brevard College 5-3 in Friday morning's semifinal round at the Rock Hill Tennis Center in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

As was the case during the regular season, LMU took two of three doubles matches when they beat Brevard at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions. The first match to finish however was won by Brevard College when Lindsay Hostetter and Claire Dillman defeated LMU's Mandy Mills and Amanda Horenkamp 8-2 in No. 2 doubles.

LMU was able to take the upper hand in the match when Sofia Lopez Mimendi and Ann-Sofie Indeherberge defeated Brevard's Lindsay Shaeffer and Kim Dixon 8-4 at No. 1 doubles, and when Leah Donoff and Melanie Smith were able to pull away from the Tornados' Kayley Duval and Jennifer Nyman with an 8-3 win at the No. 3 position.

Singles play gave tennis fans a good taste of college post-season atmosphere. The No. 1 singles match was the first to finish when LMU's Leah Donoff won easily over Brevard's Lindsay Shaeffer 6-0, 6-1 to give the Lady Railsplitters a 3-1 lead in the match.

Brevard's Kayley Duval and Kim Dixon kept the match close. Duval won 6-3, 6-0 over LMU's Mandy Mills in No. 4 singles while Dixon tied the match at 3-3 with a 6-0, 6-2 win over the Lincoln Memorial's Melaine Smith at the No. 5 position.

The Lady Railsplitters were able to secure the team victory at the No. 3 and No. 2 singles matches. LMU's fourth win of the morning came when senior Ann-Sophie Indeherberge won in three sets over Brevard's Claire Dillman 6-2, 2-6, 6-2. A few minutes later, LMU's Sofia Lopez Mimendi won the final two sets to take a grueling battle with the Tornado's Lindsay Hostetter 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, which put the Lady Railsplitters in Saturday's championship round.

The Tornados end the season with a 14-6 record. "I'm as proud of the girls as I can possibly be," said Brevard Head Coach Paul Thomson. "This match is a tough loss to digest but we had some opportunties and just came up a little short. Now we'll look for some time off and get after it again in the fall."

The Lady Railsplitters now take on No. 2 seed Tusculum College in Saturday's championship match which is set for a 9:00 a.m. start. The Pioneers advanced to the SAC Tournament finals with a 5-1 win over No. 3 seed Wingate University in the other semifinals on Friday.

Apr 23, 2010 at Rock Hill, S.C.
Lincoln Memorial 5, Brevard 3

Singles competition

1. Leah Donoff (LMU) def. Lindsay Shaeffer (BCW) 6-0, 6-1
2. Sofia Lopez Mimendi (LMU) def. Lindsay Hostetter (BCW) 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
3. Ann Indeherberge (LMU) def. Claire Dillman (BCW) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
4. Kayley Duval (BCW) def. Mandy Mills (LMU) 6-3, 6-0
5. Kim Dixon (BCW) def. Melanie Smith (LMU) 6-0, 6-2
6. Morgan Taylor (LMU) vs. Elise Labus (BCW) 4-6, 1-4, unfinished

Doubles competition

1. Sofia Lopez Mimendi/Ann Indeherberge (LMU) def. Lindsay Shaeffer/Kim Dixon (BCW) 8-4
2. Lindsay Hostetter/Claire Dillman (BCW) def. Mandy Mills/Amanda Horenkamp (LMU) 8-2
3. Leah Donoff/Melanie Smith (LMU) def. Kayley Duval/Jennifer Nyman (BCW) 8-3

Match Notes:
Brevard 14-6
Lincoln Memorial 17-3; Regional ranking No. 9
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (1,4,5,3,2)
2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Women's Tennis Tournament
No. 1 LMU advances to the championship match Saturday at 9 a.m.
T-3:10

Tusculum 5, Wingate 1

ROCK HILL, SC - The No. 2 seed Tusculum College women's tennis team advanced to the 2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament championship match with a 5-1 win over No. 3 seed Wingate University Friday morning in the tournament semifinals.

The Pioneers got the match started by tallying wins in two of the three doubles matches. Katelyn Doss and Caroline Crowe defeated Wingate's Kara Staskelis and Kelli Fergurson (8-5) at No. 1 doubles and Taylor Patterson and Courtney Conley knocked off the Bulldogs Hollyn Aberghini and Samantha Alschlager 9-8 (7-4) at the No. 2 position to give TC a 2-0 lead in doubles play.

Wingate picked up its only win of the match at the No. 3 doubles position when Ewa Opala and Helen Goreski defeated Tusculum's Blake Thompson and Megan Buckmaster 8-6 to make the match to 2-1 in favor of the Pioneers at the intermission.

In singles play, the first victory of the morning was captured at the No. 4 position when the Pioneers' Caroline Crowe defeated Wingate University's Helen Goreski in straight sets 6-4, 6-1. A short time later, Tusculum's Taylor Patterson completed a 6-2, 6-2 win over WU's Samantha Alschlager in No. 3 singles to put the Pioneers one win away from the finals.

The issue was finalized in the No. 2 singles match when TC's Courtney Conley defeated Wingate's Kelli Ferguson 6-3, 6-2 to propel the Pioneers into the 2010 Food Lion SAC Tournament Championship match Saturday at noon.

The Bulldogs end the year with a 13-7 record. "We played well and left it all on the court," said Wingate Head Coach Michael Cabana. "Im extremely proud of our ladies, we had a great year."

The Pioneer women's tennis (17-3) team will take on Lincoln Memorial University (17-3) in Saturday's tournament championship. The Lady Railsplitters advanced to the championship round by virtue of their 5-3 victory over the Brevard College Tornados in Friday morning's semifinals.

"It was a good overall day for the Pioneers. We've had some success at doubles play this year and our freshmen (Courtney Conley & Taylor Patterson) played like upperclassmen and we needed that," said Tusculum Head Coach Tommy Arnett. "LMU will be a good challenge for us. Our regular season match with LMU was a battle (5-4 LMU victory) and I expect the same on Saturday. It should be a very tight match between two tough teams."

Apr 23, 2010 at Rock Hill, S.C.
Tusculum 5, Wingate 1
Singles competition
1. Katelyn Doss (TC) vs. Kara Staskelis (WU) 3-6, 7-6, unfinished
2. Courtney Conley (TC) def. Kelli Ferguson (WU) 6-3, 6-2
3. Taylor Patterson (TC) def. Samantha Alschlager (WU) 6-2, 6-2
4. Caroline Crowe (TC) def. Helen Goreski (WU) 6-4, 6-1
5. Blake Thompson (TC) vs. Hollyn Aberghini (WU) 6-4, 3-6, 3-3, unfinished
6. Megan Buckmaster (TC) vs. Ewa Opala (WU) 2-1, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Katelyn Doss/Caroline Crowe (TC) def. Kara Staskelis/Kelli Ferguson (WU) 8-5
2. Taylor Patterson/Courtney Conley (TC) def. Hollyn Aberghini/Samantha Alschlager (WU) 9-8 (7-4)
3. Ewa Opala/Helen Goreski (WU) def. Blake Thompson/Megan Buckmaster (TC) 8-6
Match Notes:
No. 3 Wingate 13-7
No. 2 Tusculum 17-3
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (,4,3,2)
2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Women's Tennis Tournament
No. 2 Tusculum advances to the championship match Saturday at 9 a.m.