LYNCHBURG, Va. – Winthrop women's tennis (13-4, 7-0 Big South) is now the sole undefeated squad in conference play after a 4-3 victory in a hard-fought battle on the road at Liberty (10-8, 4-1) Saturday morning.

HOW IT HAPPENED 
-The Eagles won the doubles point for the 15^th time out of their 17 matches this season, but it took a battle. With a split on courts two and three, the point decision came down to court one, where nationally ranked No. 54 duo Lauren Proctor and Megan Kauffman found themselves in a battle with Liberty's Evangeline Crist and Anna Dollar. The set would go to a tiebreaker, the first for Proctor and Kauffman of the season, and they would clinch the point for Winthrop with a 7-3 tiebreak and set victory.

-The Flames would even the match at 1-1 with a win at court three, but sophomore Alisa Soloveva cruised to a 6-2, 6-3 victory at No. 2 to give the Eagles a 2-1 margin. Liberty pulled even once again after a victory at court six to make it 2-2.

-Freshman Tayla Van Eck won her third-consecutive match in straight sets, a 6-4, 7-5 battle, to put the Eagles back on top 3-2.

-No. 26 Lauren Proctor would deliver the clinching point on court one in a rare three-set contest for the league's leader at the No. 1 position. After falling in the first set 6-4, Proctor stormed back with dominant 6-2 and 6-3 set wins to take the match and clinch the team victory for Winthrop. 

NOTABLES
-With the victory, Winthrop remains in first place in the Big South Conference standings as the only undefeated team in league play with a 7-0 record.

- No. 26 Lauren Proctor (13-2) and Alisa Soloveva (14-2) each boast double-digit singles victories at the top of the league, with Soloveva's winning percentage (.875) leading the Big South Conference.

-No. 54 Lauren Proctor and Megan Kauffman improved to a league-best 15-0 with their 7-6 victory on court one. The match was their first tiebreak set of the season as no opponent had previously won more than four games against the nationally ranked pair.

-Freshman Tayla Van Eck has won five of her last six singles matches, the last three in straight-sets. With doubles partner Soloveva, she has won four-consecutive matches at the No. 2 position.

UP NEXT
Winthrop will take on nonconference foe Charlotte on the road on Thurs., Apr. 5 at 2 p.m. before returning to conference action on Sat., Apr. 7 at Rock Hill Tennis Center against Charleston Southern at 10 a.m.

FULL RESULTS
Singles
1. #26 PROCTOR, Lauren (WIN) def. BONGART, Ashley (LIBERTYW) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
2. SOLOVEVA, Alisa (WIN) def. MEDINA, Maria (LIBERTYW) 6-2, 6-3
3. SOARES, Lara (LIBERTYW) def. KAUFFMAN, Megan (WIN) 6-0, 6-1
4. VAN ECK, Tayla (WIN) def. MIROSHNICHENKO, P. (LIBERTYW) 6-4, 7-5
5. CRIST, Evangeline (LIBERTYW) def. KELIC, Aida (WIN) 7-6 (11-9), 6-3
6. DOLLAR, Anna (LIBERTYW) def. BURNS, Ellie (WIN) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles
1. #54 PROCTOR, Lauren/KAUFFMAN, Megan (WIN) def. CRIST, Evangeline/DOLLAR, Anna (LIBERTYW) 7-6 (7-3)
2. SOLOVEVA, Alisa/VAN ECK, Tayla (WIN) def. MEDINA, Maria/SOARES, Lara (LIBERTYW) 6-2
3. ANDERSON, Rebekah/HASHIGUCHI, Grace (LIBERTYW) def. KELIC, Aida/BURNS, Ellie (WIN) 6-2