ROCK HILL, S.C. – Winthrop women's tennis (15-4, 8-0 Big South Conference) claimed the regular season Big South championship outright with a 6-1 victory over Charleston Southern (10-7, 5-3 Big South) in its final regular season conference match of the season Monday afternoon. The Eagles finish the season undefeated in Big South play with a perfect 8-0 league record, the first season without a conference loss since the 2013 team went 9-0.

HOW IT HAPPENED 
-The Eagles won the crucial doubles point for the 17^th time out of their 19 matches this season, taking a sweep on all three courts and took five of six singles courts, all in two sets.

-Aida Kelic got the ball rolling for Winthrop in singles play, finishing first at court five with a particularly dominant second set shutout. Alisa Soloveva also cruised to victory at No. 2 with a 6-0, 6-4 score for a 3-0 match lead.

-Ellie Burns delivered the clinching point at No. 6, coming back from down 2-4 in her second set to win 6-4 and take the match in straight sets and clinch the win for Winthrop.

-No. 27 Lauren Proctor was challenged in her first set, but the league's leader at No. 1 won seven-straight points to take the tiebreaker to win the set and kept the momentum going to stay undefeated in conference play.

-Megan Kauffman was also pushed to a tiebreaker in her first set, then came from behind 3-4 to win her second set 6-4 for the straight-set victory.

-With the match decided, freshman Tayla Van Eck's third set decision on court four would go to a 10-point tiebreaker, which would need a battle to 14-12 to be decided in Charleston Southern's favor.

NOTABLES
-The last time the Eagles went undefeated in the regular season was 2013, when the squad posted a 9-0 record in league play. Winthrop went on to win the Big South Conference Championship Tournament that year and faced Georgia in the NCAA Tournament.

- No. 27 Lauren Proctor (15-2) and Alisa Soloveva (16-2) each boast double-digit singles victories at the top of the league, with Soloveva's winning percentage (.889) leading the Big South Conference. Proctor is undefeated in conference play (7-0) and has won all but one of her league matches in straight-sets, while Soloveva has also won each of her conference matches without dropping a set (8-0).

-No. 50 Lauren Proctor and Megan Kauffman remained undefeated and improved to a league-best 17-0 on the season with their 6-1 doubles victory on court one. Their conference-only record will stand at a perfect 7-0.

-Megan Kauffman's singles victory was her 10^th of the season overall, and improved her conference record to 6-2 in singles play.

-Aida Kelic's singles victory marked her 11^th of the season, matching her total from 2017, and brought her conference record to 7-1.

UP NEXT
Winthrop has two remaining matches in the regular season, both out-of-conference. The Eagles will host Marshall on Sat., Apr. 14 at 9 a.m., Senior Day for Aida Kelic, then head north to Raleigh, N.C. to take on NC State on Sun., Apr. 15 at 4 p.m.
Winthrop will then enjoy the No. 1 seed in next week's Big South Conference Tournament, with its sights set on earning the programs 20^th conference tournament championship.  

FULL RESULTS 
Singles
1. #27 PROCTOR, Lauren (WIN) def. KOUSSENKOVA, Valeria (CSU-W) 7-6 (7-0), 6-3
2. SOLOVEVA, Alisa (WIN) def. ERICSON, Filippa (CSU-W) 6-0, 6-4
3. KAUFFMAN, Megan (WIN) def. KOERNER, Kimberley (CSU-W) 7-6 (7-3), 6-4
4. SCHMITZ, Michelle (CSU-W) def. VAN ECK, Tayla (WIN) 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (14-12)
5. KELIC, Aida (WIN) def. MORAR, Yana (CSU-W) 6-4, 6-0
6. BURNS, Ellie (WIN) def. KIRK, Tyler (CSU-W) 6-2, 6-4

Doubles
1. #50 PROCTOR, Lauren/KAUFFMAN, Megan (WIN) def. CLOESSNER, Sophie/MAN, Madalina (CSU-W) 6-1
2. SOLOVEVA, Alisa/VAN ECK, Tayla (WIN) def. KOUSSENKOVA, Valeria/ERICSON, Filippa (CSU-W) 6-3
3. KELIC, Aida/BURNS, Ellie (WIN) def. MORAR, Yana/KOERNER, Kimberley (CSU-W) 6-1
 
BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
Mark your calendars - Winthrop is hosting the Big South Conference Championship in men's and women's tennis April 16-21 at the Rock Hill Tennis Center. More information on match times and opponents/seeds will be available soon at the conclusion of the regular season.