UNCG Women’s Tennis, Wilkins ranked in Carolina Region

SKILLMAN, N.J. – UNCG’s Women’s Tennis team is ranked ninth in the Carolina Region and rising redshirt senior Niltooli Wilkins is ranked 20th in singles in the final region rankings of 2012, released by the ITA last week.

The Spartans went 18-6 overall and 10-0 in the Southern Conference to win their first-ever outright SoCon title. UNCG also reached the SoCon Championship title match for the first time in school history.

UNCG also made an appearance in the national rankings toward the end of the 2012 season, entering at No. 74. Head coach Jeff Trivette was named the SoCon Coach of the Year, while Erica Zabkar was named the Carolina Region Assistant Coach of the Year. Two Spartans earned first-team All-SoCon honors, while three more earned second-team honors.

Wilkins, who was named the SoCon Player of the Year, went 30-6 in singles on the season, setting a school record for single-season wins. She was an astounding 20-1 in dual play, finishing the season on a 20-match winning streak after dropping her first match of the spring campaign.

The Burnsville, Minn., native was named the SoCon Player of the Week and Player of the Month twice each during the season.

Wilkins and teammate Lucy Dougherty appeared in the national rankings in doubles at various points in the season, peaking at No. 40. The duo was a first-team All-SoCon pick for the second straight year.

Carolina Region – Team rankings
1 Duke
2 North Carolina
3 South Carolina
4 Clemson
5 College of Charleston
6 NC State
7 UNCW
8 Winthrop
9 UNCG
10 Wake Forest

Singles rankings
1 Beatrice Capra (Duke)
2 Joelle Kissell (NC State)
3 Lauren McHale (North Carolina)
4 Anya Morgina (South Carolina)
5 Zoe DeBruycker (North Carolina)
6 Keri Wong (Clemson)
7 Hanna Mar (Duke)
8 Rachel Kahan (Duke)
9 Kayla Duncan (Wake Forest)
10 Mary Clayton (Duke)
11 Klara Vyskocilova (Clemson)
12 Jaklin Alawi (South Carolina)
13 Dijana Stojic (South Carolina)
14 Ester Goldfeld (Duke)
15 Monica Turewicz (Duke)
16 Caroline Price (North Carolina)
17 Shinann Featherston (North Carolina)
18 Beatrice Gumulya (Clemson)
19 Ryann Cutillo (Wake Forest)
20 Niltooli Wilkins (UNCG)

Doubles rankings
1 Shinann Featherston/Lauren McHale (North Carolina)
2 Keri Wong/Josipa Bek (Clemson)
3 Beatrice Capra/Rachel Kahan (Duke)
4 Mary Clayton/Ester Goldfeld (Duke)
5 Ester Goldfeld/Beatrice Capra (Duke)
6 Dijana Stojic/Jaklin Alawi (South Carolina)
7 Beatrice Gumulya/Keri Wong (Clemson)
8 Tessa Lyons/Haley Hemm (North Carolina)
9 Kathryn Talbert/Kayla Duncan (Wake Forest)
10 Joelle Kissell/Ashley Miller (NC State)