FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 5-3-01

AASU Hosts NCAA Division II Women's Tennis South Regional

SAVANNAH, Ga. – The No. 4-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State women's tennis team will host three other schools in the 2001 NCAA Division II Women's Tennis South Regional on Friday, May 4, and Saturday, May 5. On the line is a berth in the NCAA Division II Women's Tennis National Championships, to be held in Pensacola, Fla., from May 10-13.

AASU (19-5) enters the regional as the top seed and will be looking for its seventh straight berth in the national championships. The Lady Pirates feature Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year Zsofi Golopencza and All-Conference junior Michaela Kratochvilova and won the Peach Belt Conference Championship for the seventh time in the past eight years.

Fellow Peach Belt Conference school Kennesaw State (12-4) is the No. 2 seed and is ranked No. 11 in the latest Wingspanbank.com/ITA DII National Rankings. Led by All-PBC singles performer Loraine Rosmuller, Kennesaw State is making its fifth straight NCAA Regionals appearance.

Harding (20-9), the No. 3 seed, makes the longest trip of the regional teams, hailing from Searcy, Ark., and enters the regional ranked No. 24 in the nation. The Lady Bisons finished third in the Gulf South Conference's Western Division and are led by All-GSC performer Permilla Axelsson.

Clark Atlanta (17-3) rounds out the region field as the No. 4 seed and was the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's regular season champion. Led by SIAC Player of the Year Chanel Brown, the Lady Panthers are making their first-ever NCAA Regionals appearance.

Harding and Kennesaw State meet in the first-round match on Friday, May 4, at 11:00 a.m., with host AASU meeting Clark Atlanta at 2:00 p.m. on Friday. The region championship match will be on Saturday, May 5, at 2:00 p.m. with the winner earning a bid in the NCAA Division II Women's Tennis National Championships at the University of West Florida from Thursday, May 10, to Sunday, May 13.

NCAA Division II Women's Tennis South Regional Site

- Pirates -