Rocky Mount, N.C. - The women's tennis team of North Carolina Wesleyan saw its 2016 season come to an end with a 6-3 loss to Covenant College in the semifinals of the USA South Tournament on Saturday at the Slick Family Foundation Tennis Center. The Bishops finish the season with a 12-6 overall record.

Wesleyan, the tournament's #3 seed, reached the semifinals via an 8-1 win over #6 Piedmont on Friday. The duos of Valeria Berber/Stephany Barbera (8-4), Florencia Sorrentino/Ana Diaz (9-7), and Andrea Tobar/Ariana Paz (8-3) led the Bishops to a doubles sweep of the Lions. Berber, Barbera, Diaz, Tobar, and Katie Beeman proceeded to earn singles wins at the #1, #2, #4, #5, and #6 positions, respectively, with Diaz and Tobar winning in three sets.

Saturday's semifinal round featured the Bishops and 2nd-seeded Covenant College. Berber and Barbera cruised to an 8-3 win at #1 doubles, but an 8-6 win by CC's Geving/Speilman at the #3 seed gave the Scots a 2-1 lead entering singles. A straight-set win by Tobar at #5 tied the match at 2-2, and Barbera gave NCWC a brief 3-2 advantage with a 6-4, 6-3 win at #2. From there, however, Covenant swept the remaining matches to seal the victory.

After going 2-0 in both singles and doubles play, Barbera was named to the 2016 All-Tournament Team.

The Covenant loss marked the end of the careers seniors Berber and Beeman. In her two-year Bishop tenure, Berber made her mark as a two-time USA South All-Conference performer and tournament Most Valuable Player (2015), finishing with a 29-6 career record in singles play. A four-year letterwinner, Beeman completes her career with 30 victories in singles and doubles combined.