Wingate To Face Clayton State In NCAA Women’s Tennis Tournament
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The Wingate University women's tennis team will open NCAA Division II Southeast Region play on Monday when they face number 12 Clayton State (Ga.) University in Columbus, Ga.
Winners of 19 matches in row, number six seed Wingate enters the NCAA tournament with a 21-1 overall record. The first serve for the Wingate/Clayton State match is slated for 1 p.m. Monday, May 2.
On Saturday, Wingate won the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference tournament for the first time in school history. The regular season champion Bulldogs blanked Mars Hill College 5-0 to earn an automatic qualification to the NCAA dance. Wingate has qualified for the NCAA tournament nine times; the 2011 appearance is the team's first tourney since 2003. Clayton State enters the tournament with a 15-7 overall record. The CSU Lakers are the number three seed in the region.
The Columbus site is one of two Southeast Region venues. The host and number two seed Columbus State University Cougars (16-5 overall) will play number seven seed Augusta State University (13-11 overall), with the winner facing the Wingate/Clayton State victor for a chance to go to the Sweet 16 in Altamonte Springs, Fla. May 11-14.
The Bulldogs advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in 1996, defeating St. Andrews Presbyterian College (4-2) and Elon University (4-1) to take their first (and only) trip to the championship site. The University of North Florida ended Wingate's 1996 run with a 4-0 victory in Edmond, Okla. The Bulldogs earned at-large bids to the NCAA Division II tournament in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2003.