Rocky Mount, N.C. - The NCWC men's and women's tennis programs honored their 2017 seniors on Saturday at the Slick Family Foundation Tennis Center. Seniors Ben Tolhurst, Leigh Hales, and Andrea Tobar responded by leading their Battling Bishops to 9-0 sweeps of USA South foe William Peace University.
On the women's side, the Bishops (6-5, 4-1 USA South) cruised to a 3-0 lead in doubles as Tobar teamed with Stephany Barbera for an 8-1 win at the top seed, and Hales joined Florencia Sorrentino for an 8-2 victory at #2. It was more of the same in singles as Wesleyan tallied five straight-set wins, with #6 coming by default. Nicole Halabi, Tobar, Ana Diaz, Manuela Cano, and Hales competed at #1 through #5, respectively, with Tobar posting a perfect 6-0, 6-0 victory and Hales a 6-1, 6-1 win.
In men's action, the newly-ranked #27 Bishops (15-4, 8-0 USA South) showed no sign of a let-down in tallying their seventh shutout in eight USA South outings. In doubles, Tolhurst partnered with Sebastian Sikh for an 8-1 win at #1, while J.D. Telles/David Appelqvist (8-0) and Mark Sokolov/Jeremy Lintner (8-2) were winners at #2 and #3. Singles play then saw Wesleyan surrender just four games combined at #1 through #5, which included a 6-1, 6-1 victory by Tolhurst at the 3rd seed. Lintner completed the sweep with a 3-set win at #6 (6-1, 4-6, 10-6).
Saturday's match marked the first time the Bishops took the court since Thursday's updated national rankings were released. In addition to their #27 overall ranking, the Bishops came in at #7 in the South Atlantic Region. Individually, Sikh was tabbed the 6th-ranked player in the region, while sophomore teammate Ioannis Brokakis was 20th overall. The duo also cracked the top-10 in regional doubles, securing a #9 ranking.
Both teams wrap up USA South play next weekend at Greensboro and Averett on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.