Men’s Tennis to face LMU in SAC Tournament

ROCK HILL, S.C. - Defending tournament champion Lincoln Memorial, 11-5 overall, will face fifth-seed Mars Hill College (5-4 SAC, 7-8 overall) in one quarterfinal match on Wednesday at 9 a.m. All matches will be held at the Rock Hill Tennis Center in Rock Hill, S.C.

Conference champion Wingate University, which went undefeated in league play, is the top seed for the 2011 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Men's Tennis Tournament, the conference office announced. Wingate wrapped up a perfect conference slate with a 5-4 victory over Brevard on Friday. The Bulldogs won their second conference title in three years. Wingate is 16-3 overall, has won 12 matches in a row, and is ranked No. 39 in the Campbell/ITA NCAA Division II national rankings.

Anderson University, Brevard College, and Lincoln Memorial University finished in a three-way tie for second place with 7-2 conference records. Each of the three teams went 1-1 against the other two tied teams. Also, the match scores were identical in each of the matches, with the winning team prevailing by a 5-4 score. Each of the three teams lost to Wingate, and defeated the other five conference opponents.

In order to break the deadlock, the conference office had to go to the final step in its tiebreaking procedure, a coin toss by the commissioner. SAC Commissioner Patrick Britz conducted the coin toss process on Saturday, with the head coaches from Anderson, Brevard, and Lincoln Memorial. Anderson won the process and earned the second seed.
Both Wingate and Anderson will have byes to Thursday's semifinals.

Brevard earned the third seed by virtue of its 5-4 victory over Lincoln Memorial on April 8. Brevard, 13-7 overall, will face sixth-seed Newberry College (4-5 SAC, 6-13 overall) in one quarterfinal match on Wednesday at 9 a.m.

The winner of the Brevard / Newberry match will face Anderson in one semifinal match on Thursday at 9 a.m. The winner of the Lincoln Memorial / Mars Hill match will face Wingate in the other semifinal match on Thursday at 9 a.m.

Following the women's tournament semifinals on Thursday, coaches and student-athletes from South Atlantic Conference men's and women's tennis teams will conduct a youth tennis clinic at the Rock Hill Tennis Center from 5-6 p.m.

The semifinal winners will meet for the tournament championship on Friday at 9 a.m. For more information on the Rock Hill Tennis Center, click here. Follow the links for more information on visiting Rock Hill and York County. The tournament winner will receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Tournament.
Food Lion is the title sponsor for all South Atlantic Conference championships.

2011 Food Lion SAC Men's Tennis Tournament
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Quarterfinals
At Rock Hill Tennis Center, Rock Hill, S.C.
No. 3 Brevard vs. No. 6 Newberry, 9 a.m.
No. 4 Lincoln Memorial vs. No. 5 Mars Hill, 9 a.m.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Semifinals
At Rock Hill Tennis Center, Rock Hill, SC
No. 1 Wingate vs. Lincoln Memorial / Mars Hill winner, 9 a.m.
No. 2 Anderson vs. Brevard / Newberry winner, 9 a.m.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Championship
At Rock Hill Tennis Center, Rock Hill, SC
Semifinal winners, 9 a.m.