MARS HILL, N.C. - The Newberry College women's tennis team saved their best performance of 2008 for Saturday, dominatiing Mars Hill College, 8-1, in the regular season finale. The Lady Indians (3-11, 2-5 SAC) earn the No. 6 seed in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament, which starts Monday. The Lions (3-15, 0-7 SAC) finish eighth in SAC play, and will travel to top-seeded Carson-Newman. Newberry's opponent will be announced Sunday.

The Lady Indians took the first two points of the match with resounding doubles wins. Chanelle Clare (Nassau, Bahamas) and Autise Mortimer (Nassau, Bahamas) scored an 8-2 win over Patricia La Rovere and Kim Blythe in the top flight match.

They were followed by Lauren Hartley (Beamsville, Ontario, Canada) and Bethany Poppe (Califon, N.J.), who swept Karyn Devinney and Rachel Hall, 8-0. Mars Hill earned their only point of the match in the third doubles match, where Adriana Borda and Paola Aybar Jiminez beat Brittany Grooms (Sumter, S.C.) and Danielle Beckerle (St. Louis, Mo.), 8-3.

The Lady Indians could not be tamed in singles play. Hartley took the first match with a 6-1, 6-0 drubbing of Borda, and Mortimer followed with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 triumph over La Rovere. Clare clinched the win by taking down Blythe, 6-3, 6-1.

With victory in hand, Newberry poured in on in the final three matches. Poppe earned a point by tripping Aybar, 6-2, 6-2, and Grooms muscled up for a 6-0, 6-0 beatdown of Hall. Kelly Cheesborough (Harlem, Ga.) took the final point, her first of the year, by scoring a win via default.

Having won two of their last four matches, the Lady Indians will learn the identity of their quarterfinal opponent Sunday. Regardless of who the Lady Indians play, the match will take place Monday afternoon on the road.