FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 11-13-00

This Week In Armstrong Atlantic State Athletics

Monday, November 13
No Events Scheduled

Tuesday, November 14
No Events Scheduled

Wednesday, November 15
No Events Scheduled

Thursday, November 16
• Volleyball at NCAA Division II South Regional (Tampa, Fla.)
(3) AASU vs. (6) USC Spartanburg, 5:30 p.m.

Friday, November 17
• Volleyball at NCAA Division II South Regional (Tampa, Fla.)
• Women's Basketball hosts the Chatham Orthopaedic/Days Inn Oglethorpe TipOff Classic
Northern Michigan vs. Catawba, 6:00 p.m.
AASU vs. Mount Olive, 8:00 p.m.

Saturday, November 18
• Volleyball at NCAA Division II South Regional (Tampa, Fla.)
• Men's Basketball vs. Claflin, 4:00 p.m.
• Women's Basketball hosts the Chatham Orthopaedic/Days Inn Oglethorpe TipOff Classic
Consolation/Championship Game, 6/8:00 p.m.

Sunday, November 19
No Events Scheduled

Volleyball (28-9, 12-2 Peach Belt, No. 24 AVCA Division II Top 25, No. 3 South Region)

The No. 24-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State volleyball team finished in second place at the Peach Belt Conference Tournament over the weekend, but received the program's first-ever bid to the NCAA Division II National Championships on Sunday.

The Pirates began the week with a 3-0 loss at No. 17 Barry on Monday, but made it to the championship match of the Peach Belt Conference tournament for the second straight season by knocking off UNC Pembroke and USC Aiken by 3-0 scores on Friday to set up a showdown with North Florida.

UNF defended its PBC Tournament title with a 3-1 victory on Saturday. Senior Micah Roman and sophomore Sarah Haynes earned All-Tournament honors and both were honored as All-Conference players as well on Thursday, joining sophomore Lindsay Ehlers. Haynes was named the PBC Player of the Year and Alan Segal was named PBC Coach of the Year for the second straight season.

On Sunday, the Pirates were awarded a bid to the NCAA Championships for the first time in the school's 15 years of volleyball. AASU, the No. 3 seed in the South Region, will face the No. 6 seed, USC Spartanburg, at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. The winner faces No. 2 North Florida on Friday, then the championship match is on Saturday.

Men's Basketball (1-2 Overall)

The AASU men's basketball team opened the season at the Disney's Division II TipOff Classic over the weekend and the Pirates took sixth place, going 1-2 during the three-day tournament.

The Pirates took on Bentley in the opening round Friday and lost by three, 72-69, to the Falcons. Junior David Koncul led all players with 22 points while senior Robert Campbell added nine points, six assists and six steals.

AASU rebounded on Saturday with a 72-62 win over Wayne State (Neb.). Sophomore Brian Hobbs scored a career-high 15 points to lead four Pirates in double figures.

In the fifth-place game on Sunday, AASU found itself down by 19 points to St. Joseph's (Ind.) in the second half, but battled back to within two, 67-65, with seven seconds remaining. A three-point attempt at the buzzer, however, hit the front of the rim and the Pirates lost its second game of the season by three points or less.

Koncul earned All-Tournament honors at the TipOff Classic by leading the Pirates in scoring two of the three games. AASU opens up its home season on Sat., Nov. 18 at 4:00 p.m. against Claflin.

Men's and Women's Tennis

The AASU men's tennis team competed at the 2000 Florida Collegiates, hosted by Flagler College in St. Augustine, Fla., this weekend, wrapping up the fall tennis season for th Pirates.

Freshman Frederik de Beer won the No. 3 Flight Singles title, defeating Sergio Sancho of Lynn, 6-3, 6-2, and Pavel Dimitrov of Bethune-Cookman, 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3 before defeating Raphael Almeida of Lynn, 5-0, retired.

Senior Stefan Wirtz and junior Blaise Tribolet advanced to the semifinals of the No. 1 Flight Singles bracket but both lost to Barry players in the semifinals. Wirtz defeated Chris Snoap of Flagler, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 before losing to M'Bioka of Barry, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. Tribolet won his first-round match against Kevin Gill of Florida Gulf Coast, 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, 6-3, and defeated Martinez of Bethune-Cookman, 6-3, 6-2, before losing to former AASU All-America Christian Witt, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, in the semis.

In doubles action, AASU's team of Wirtz and de Beer won the No. 2 Flight bracket, defeating Snoap and Roberson of Flagler, 8-6, and Moysey and Mata of Florida Gulf Coast, 8-3, before winning the championship by default over Mugica/Almeida of Lynn.

The doubles team of Jallali and freshman Bob Rog won the No. 3 Flight bracket, defeating Holtz/Guille of North Florida, 8-3, and Johnson/Sancho of Lynn, 8-4, before knocking off McIntyre/Breugelman of UNF, 8-3, for the championship.

Men's Golf

AASU wrapped up its fall competition by playing in two tournaments last week, competing at the Rollins College Intercollegiate on Monday and Tuesday, then competing at the North Shore/Pfeiffer Intercollegiate on Saturday and Sunday.

AASU fired a final-round 305 to finish in 11th place at the Rollins College Intercollegiate. Freshman Bill Faith shot a final-round 75 for the Pirates, finishing with a three-day total of 222, six-over par and tied for 22nd overall.

Freshman Thomas Whittaker shot a final-round 73 and finished tied for 27th overall with a 10-over-par 224 total. Travis Kelly shot a final-round 76 to finish at 236 (+20, t60th) while Andrew Suggs finished next for AASU after a final-round 81for a 21-over-par 237 total (t-64th). Clay Best rounded out the Pirates' scoring with a final-round 84 to end up with a 248 total (+32, 81st).

At the North Shore/Pfeiffer Intercollegiate, AASU rebounded from a first-round 316 to shoot a final-round 291 and finish 12th.

Whittaker carded the Pirates' first under-par round of the year with a second-round 71 to go with his first-round 75 and finish with a two-day total of 146, two-over-par, tying for 11th individually. Bill Faith (80-74=154, +10) and Andrew Suggs (81-73=154, +10) placed next for the Pirates, followed by Travis Kelly (82-73=155, +11) and Jonathon Norman (80-77=157, +13).

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