Box Score

ASHEVILLE, NC –  In a fitting end, junior Yasmine Alkema clinched the shutout 4-0 victory over Coastal Carolina to capture the 2012 Big South Women's Tennis Tournament Championship Saturday at the Asheville Racquet Club south, sending Winthrop back to the NCAA Championships for the fifth straight season.

Winthrop earns its tenth championships in the last eleven years and it is the twelve trip to the NCAA Championships for head coach Cid Carvalho. The Eagles close out the tournament with a 15-10 overall mark and did not drop a doubles point or singles set throughout the weekend.

The Eagles did not get off to its usual quick start in the doubles round, finding themselves down early at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions. At No. 2 doubles, the duo of senior Sandra Herrera and junior Giovanna Portioli cruised to an 8-2 win over Katie Fosnacht and Mikaela Kristofersson, avenging an 8-4 loss earlier in the season.

Coastal responded with an 8-4 win at the No. 3 position, as Maria Hesketh and Kourtney Kowal knocked off freshmen Camille Amrani and Ekin Gunaysu 8-4.

The point came down the No. 1 position as Alkema and sophomore Andressa Garcia found themselves deadlocked with Coastal's Miki Bunea and Diana Mortlock 6-6 when the No. 2 doubles finished. The Winthrop tandem proved to be too much, earning a hard fought 9-7 win to earn the opening point.

The momentum from the doubles round carried into the singles round for the Eagles, as in the three victories, Winthrop dropped just five games. Herrera showed her senior experience with a 6-1, 6-1 victory of Fosnacht to start the winning trend at No. 3 singles. Following Herrera was Portioli who defeated Kristofersson 6-0, 6-1 at the No. 4 position.

As two more Winthrop players took the opening set, Alkema was the first to close out her match and clinch the championship victory 6-2, 6-0 at No. 1, sending Winthrop to the NCAA Championships. With the win, the junior remained perfect in conference matches this season, not dropping a single set.

The NCAA Championships will begin on May 11^th as Winthrop will know their tournament fate on Tuesday, May 1^st at 5:30 p.m. The Eagles will look to earn their first NCAA Tournament win in the program's history.