FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 4-23-07
AASU Tennis Sweeps Peach Belt Conference Titles !!
Women's Tennis Captures Fourth Straight Tournament Title
AUGUSTA, Ga. - The top-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State women's tennis squad captured its fourth straight and 13th overall Peach Belt Conference women's tennis title with a 5-0 win over Columbus State on Sunday afternoon at the Newman Tennis Center in Augusta
The Lady Pirates (25-0) swept all three doubles matches from the Cougars to take a 3-0 lead. PBC Tournament doubles MVPs Iuliia Stupak and Dziyana Nazaruk defeated Raluca Moldovan and Agata Polcyn, 8-2, at No. 1 doubles, while Johanna Dahlback and Martina Beckmann defeated Daniela Castillo and Erin Reynolds, 8-5, at No. 2 doubles. Sofia Haggstrom and Gabriella Kovacs completed the sweep with an 8-3 win over Lindsay Groenewald and Gabriela Vasalescu at No. 3 doubles.
AASU then got straight set wins at the top as Stupak, also the PBC Tournament singles MVP, defeated Moldovan, 6-1, 6-0, at No. 1 singles and Dahlback defeated Polcyn, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 2 singles. The Lady Pirates have not lost a match against a Peach Belt opponent since 2003, a string of 51 consecutive league opponents defeated.
The Lady Pirates also receive an automatic bid to the upcoming 2007 NCAA Division II Tennis Championships and will likely host one of two Mid-Atlantic Regionals, to be competed on May 4-5.
Men's Tennis Captures Third Straight Tournament Title
AUGUSTA, Ga. - The top-seeded Armstrong Atlantic State men's tennis team swept all three doubles matches en route to a 5-3 win over No. 3 seed USC Upstate and a third-straight Peach Belt Conference men's tennis tournament title on Sunday afternoon at the Newman Tennis Center in Augusta.
The Pirates (24-3) got off to a good start in the doubles as the Pirates avenged an earlier-season loss at the top spot by Christian Bergh and Robert Jendelund to Stefan Dumitrescu and Renzo Airaldi, winning 8-6. Taavo Roos and Davor Zink overcame an early 3-0 deficit to defeat Sandy Franz and Javier Tori, 8-6, at No. 2 doubles, while Paul Bishop and Cristian Easton defeated Sebastien Gonzales-Orbegoso and Leandro Osorio, 8-5, at No. 3 doubles.
USC Upstate caught some momentum in singles, however, winning the first set in four of six singles matches. Tori defeated Bergh, 6-4, 7-5, at No. 3 singles and Gonzales-Orbegoso defeated Jendelund, 7-5, 6-3, at No. 4 singles. Paul Bishop got the Pirates' fourth point, winning a second set tiebreak to defeat Sandy Franz, 6-2, 7-6. After Dumitrescu defeated Zink, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 1 singles, Henrik Lilja clinched the win for the Pirates with a 6-2, 6-7, 6-2 win over Jack Roux at No. 6 singles.
The win gives the Pirates an automatic bid to the upcoming 2007 NCAA Division II Tennis Championships and will likely host one of two Mid-Atlantic Regionals, to be competed on May 4-5. Both the AASU men's and women's tennis teams have competed in the last 13 consecutive NCAA DII tennis championships.
Lady Pirates Complete Undefeated Season, Capture PBC Title
FLORENCE, S.C. - The Armstrong Atlantic State women's tennis team completed its fourth straight perfect regular season on Monday, knocking off Francis Marion, 7-2, to capture the 2007 Peach Belt Conference regular season title outright and stretch its regular season match win streak to 92, dating back to 2003.
The Lady Pirates (22-0, 11-0 PBC) won two of three doubles matches, then picked up five singles wins to clinch the match and close out an undefeated Peach Belt season for the fourth straight year as well. Dziyana Nazaruk, Gabriela Kovacs, Sofia Haggstrom, Alisa Kagukina and Martina Beckmann all picked up straight set singles wins for AASU.
Armstrong Atlantic has now won a league-best 13 Peach Belt Conference women's tennis titles and will head to the 2007 Peach Belt Conference championships in Augusta, Ga., as the No. 1 seed.
Pirates Capture PBC Title Outright With 9-0 Win Over Patriots
FLORENCE, S.C. - The No. 3-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State men's tennis team captured its third straight Peach Belt Conference regular season title with a 9-0 win over Francis Marion on Monday afternoon in Florence, S.C.
The Pirates (21-3, 9-0 PBC) completed a perfect season in the league with a little help from the Patriots (8-8, 3-6 PBC), who had to default at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles to being the match. AASU picked up two close wins in doubles with Christian Bergh and Robert Jendelund knocking off Chatwinder Singh and Franklyn Emmanuel, 9-8 (6), at No. 1 doubles. Cristian Easton and Paul Bishop teamed to defeat Matthew Keth and Dananjaya Mayadunne, 9-7, at No. 2 doubles.
Emmanuel defaulted at No. 1 singles against Paul Bishop, while Singh retired after falling behind Davor Zink, 6-4, 2-0, at No. 2 singles, giving the Pirates the win. Bergh, Jendelund and Taavo Roos picked up straight set wins as well in singles.
AASU has now finished the last two league seasons undefeated in Peach Belt play and the Pirates have won their last 16 league matches, dating back to 2005.
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