A pair of Tusculum College Women's tennis players have been selected All-South Atlantic Conference in voting by the conference's head coaches, the SAC office announced Tuesday. Freshman Holly Verner was a first-team selection in singles, and was a second-team choice in doubles along with senior Katelyn Doss.

The duo helped the Pioneers earn the third seed in the upcoming SAC Tournament, where they will open on Thursday at 9:00 a.m. against sixth-seeded Lincoln Memorial in a quarterfinal matchup from the Rock Hill Tennis Center.

Verner turned in a solid freshman campaign for the Pioneers, compiling a 14-4 overall record at the number-one singles spot in the Tusculum lineup. Verner, a two-time SAC Player of the Week, went 6-2 in conference play and had an eight-match winning streak midway through the season. All 14 of Verner's singles wins are in straight sets, and she won 13 sets by a 6-0 score.

As a doubles team, Verner and Doss went 11-5 playing at the number-one position in the lineup. The duo went 4-4 in South Atlantic Conference matches, and had winning streaks of six and four matches during the course of the season.

For Doss, it is the fourth time in her career that the Bristol, Va. native has been named second-team All-South Atlantic Conference. The senior has a career doubles record of 54-29, including a 22-9 mark in SAC matches.

Mars Hill's Erika Pinate was named SAC Player of the Year for the second straight season, while Wingate swept the remaining awards as Becca Thomas was Freshman of the Year, Michael Cabana was Coach of the Year and Kelli Ferguson was the Scholar-Athlete.

Tusculum is 16-3 overall heading into the SAC Tournament, after finishing in third place with a 7-2 mark in league matches. Lincoln Memorial finished in a three-way tie for fourth place at 5-4 in the SAC, but dropped to sixth in seeding. The Railsplitters went 14-5 overall, including a 5-4 victory over the Pioneers at home on April 7.

The winner of Thursday's match will face second-seeded Anderson Friday at 9:00 a.m. in the semifinals. The conference championship match is scheduled for Saturday at 9:00 a.m. from the Rock Hill Tennis Center.

Erika Pinate, Mars Hill
Leah Donoff, Lincoln Memorial
Holly Verner, Tusculum
Ali Evers, Wingate
Claire Dillman, Brevard
Sofia Lopez-Mimendi, Lincoln Memorial*
Tatiana Dualiby, Mars Hill*

Doubles
Ali Evers/Becca Thomas, Wingate
Leah Donoff/Sofia Lopez-Mimendi, Lincoln Memorial
Erika Pinate/Tatiana Dualiby, Mars Hill

* tied for final first-team singles selection

Second Team
Singles
Becca Thomas, Wingate
Susana Aguirre, Newberry
Ariel Strong, Newberry
Avery Owen, Anderson
Camie Brunet, Anderson

Doubles
Claire Dillman/Michelle Prata, Brevard
Katelyn Doss/Holly Verner, Tusculum
Camie Brunet/Shelby Anderson, Anderson

Player of the Year: Erika Pinate, Mars Hill
Freshman of the Year: Becca Thomas, Wingate
Coach of the Year: Michael Cabana, Wingate
Scholar-Athlete: Kelli Ferguson, Wingate

2012 South Atlantic Conference Women's Tennis Tournament
at Rock Hill Tennis Center, Rock Hill, S.C.

Thursday, April 19
Quarterfinals
No. 4 Brevard vs. No. 5 Mars Hill, 9:00 a.m.
No. 3 Tusculum vs. No. 6 Lincoln Memorial, 9:00 a.m.
No. 2 Anderson, bye
No. 1 Wingate, bye

Friday, April 20
Semifinals
Brevard/Mars Hill winner vs. Wingate, 9:00 a.m.
Tusculum/Lincoln Memorial winner vs. Anderson, 9:00 a.m.

Saturday, April 21
Championship match, 9:00 a.m.