Indianapolis, Ind.----The Wingate University women’s soccer team is ranked eighth in this week’s Southeast Region rankings, released Wednesday afternoon. The Bulldogs are 11-3-3 overall as they travel to Catawba College Wednesday for the opening round of the 2009 Food Lion SAC tournament.

The Carson-Newman Eagles are the top-ranked team in this week’s rankings. Columbus State is number two, followed by Tusculum at three and Armstrong Atlantic State at four. Newberry checks in at five, with Catawba sixth, Lander seventh and Wingate eighth. Georgia College is ninth, while Lenoir-Rhyne rounds out the top 10.

The top six teams in the region advance to the NCAA Regional Tournament. The winners of the three conference tournaments in the region will receive automatic qualification bids. The field and host sites will be announced Sunday night. The regional tournament begins November 19.

Sophomore forward Kelly Adams (Matthews, N.C.) leads the Bulldogs with nine goals and nine assists this year. She leads the SAC in assists, while her 27 points ranks fifth and her nine goals are good for sixth. Sophomore forward Liz Kinney (Moore, S.C.) is second on the team with eight goals and four assists. She ranks eighth in the league in points and ninth in goals. Sophomore forward Kerstin Williams (Summerville, S.C.) is tied for the team-lead with nine goals on the year.

As a team, the Bulldogs lead the league with 2.71 goals per game, while ranking second with 0.71 goals allowed per game and third with nine shutouts. Freshman goalkeeper Catie Avery (East Hampton, Conn.) leads the SAC with a 0.34 goals against average, while ranking third with an .857 save percentage.

The winner of tonight’s game advances to the SAC Tournament semifinals Friday night at 6 p.m. at Manchester Meadows Soccer Complex in Rock Hill, S.C. The championship match will take place Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. at Rock Hill.

WINGATE UNIVERSITY

Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a private four-year co-educational institution of 2,159 students offering active learning opportunities through personalized instruction, world travel, career discovery and community service.

Wingate offers more than 40 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business, communication, education, fine arts, music and sport sciences. It also offers graduate degrees in business, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration. In addition, the school awards the doctor of pharmacy and the doctor of education degrees.

Bulldog student-athletes compete in 17 NCAA Division II sports. Wingate University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past three years.

Wingate University is ranked number three among NCAA Division II Academic All-America® producing schools in the 2000’s with 34 honorees during this millennium. Only Pittsburg State (Kan.) University and Truman State (Mo.) University have produced more Academic All-America® honorees during this time period. Wingate’s 43 Academic All-America® honorees (lifetime) is tops among all SAC schools.

(Wingate University assistant sports information director Hugh Patton wrote this article. Patton is a 2006 Wingate grad with a B.A. degree in Communication Studies.)

Southeast Region Women’s Soccer Rankings

1. Carson-Newman

2. Columbus State

3. Tusculum

4. Armstrong Atlantic State

5. Newberry

6. Catawba

7. Lander

8. Wingate

9. Georgia College

10. Lenoir-Rhyne