Rocky Mount, N.C. - The men's tennis team of North Carolina Wesleyan has claimed its eighth straight USA South Tournament crown, downing #2 Methodist University by an 8-1 score on Sunday at the Slick Family Foundation Tennis Center. With the victory, the Battling Bishops run their win streak versus USA South opponents to 78 matches dating back to 2009, when current head coach Dustin Hale helped the Bishops capture their first title as a student-athlete.

The top-seeded Bishops showed quickly that they had no intention of letting their streak end on Sunday, sweeping doubles play behind the winning duos of Sebastian Sikh/Peter Hviid (8-6), J.D. Telles/Mikhail Konnov (8-4), Ioannis Brokakis/Eduardo Ugalde (8-2).

Singles play saw Mark Sokolov put the Bishops up 4-0 with a 6-2, 6-0 win over 4th-seeded John Dangerfield, while Konnov clinched the match with a 6-2, 6-2 victory at #5 over Jacob Groce. Freshman Henry Lam, Sikh, and Brokakis followed suit to give NCWC an 8-0 advantage. The Monarchs (13-6) notched their lone point at the #3 seed where Wesleyan's J.D. Telles was forced to retire in the third set.

Wesleyan reached Sunday's title match via a 9-0 sweep of #4 Piedmont (11-8) in Saturday's semifinal round. Sikh/Hviid, Telles/Konnov, Brokakis/Ugalde cruised to 8-6, 8-2, and 8-0 wins in doubles play, respectively, while five of six singles matches were won in straights.

Sikh earned tournament Most Valuable Player honors after going undefeated at both #1 singles and #1 doubles.  Joining him on the All-Tournament team were Brokakis, Telles, and Konnov.

The championship win gives N.C. Wesleyan (15-6) the USA South's automatic bic to the NCAA Tournament. Currently ranked #40 in the nation, the Bishops will await seeding and opponents for regional play in early May.