FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 11-6-00

This Week In Armstrong Atlantic State Athletics

Monday, November 6
• Men's Golf at Rollins College Intercollegiate Tournament (Orlando, Fla.)
• Volleyball at Barry, 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, November 7
• Men's Golf at Rollins College Intercollegiate Tournament (Orlando, Fla.)

Wednesday, November 8
No Events Scheduled

Thursday, November 9
No Events Scheduled

Friday, November 10
• Men's Basketball at Disney's Division II TipOff Classic (Orlando, Fla.)
AASU vs. Bentley, 1:00 p.m.
• Volleyball at Peach Belt Conference Championships (Pembroke, N.C.)
(2) AASU vs. (7) UNC Pembroke, 2:00 p.m.
• Men's Tennis at 2000 Florida Collegiates (St. Augustine, Fla.)

Saturday, November 11
• Men's Basketball at Disney's Division II TipOff Classic (Orlando, Fla.)
• Volleyball at Peach Belt Conference Championships (Pembroke, N.C.)
• Men's Tennis at 2000 Florida Collegiates (St. Augustine, Fla.)

Sunday, November 12
• Men's Basketball at Disney's Division II TipOff Classic (Orlando, Fla.)
• Men's Tennis at 2000 Florida Collegiates (St. Augustine, Fla.)

Volleyball (26-7, 12-2 Peach Belt, No. 24 AVCA Division II Top 25, No. 3 South Region)

The No. 24-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State volleyball team wrapped up second place in the Peach Belt Conference with two wins over the weekend.

Friday, AASU defeated UNC Pembroke, 3-0, led by senior Micah Roman's 11 kills and sophomore Erin Melius' 19 assists.

Saturday afternoon, the Pirates celebrated Senior Day as two AASU players – Roman and Jamie Burrell – played their last home matches of their careers. Sparked by Roman's 13 kills and 12 digs and Burrell's season-high 12 kills, AASU defeated Francis Marion, 3-1.

With a 12-2 mark, the Pirates secured the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Peach Belt Conference tournament in Pembroke, N.C. AASU will face the No. 7 seed, UNC Pembroke, in the tournament's first round on Friday, Nov. 10 at 2:00 p.m.

Before the tournament, AASU closes out its regular season with a Monday evening match at No. 17-ranked Barry University at 7:00 p.m.

Women's Cross Country (No. 5 South Region)

The AASU women's cross country team finished eleventh at the NCAA Division II South Regionals in Jacksonville, Fla., on Saturday afternoon.

AASU was led by senior Nikki Garland, who finished fifth overall in a time of 22:39.41 over the 6,000 meter course. Garland becomes the Lady Pirates' first four-time All-Region runner by duplicating her fifth-place performance from last season.

Senior Marie-Claude Ostiguy finished 13th overall in a time of 23:51.18, earning All-Region honors for the first time in her career. Sophomore Jillian Charles finished 46th with a time of 25:42.17, while senior Amanda Lagesse (78th, 27:17.55) and freshman Sarah Harris (131st, 33:38.20) rounded out the Lady Pirate scoring.

West Georgia captured the team title with 90 total points, followed by Harding (92), Florida Southern (100), Kennesaw Sate (105) and North Florida (107). The Pirates finished with 264 points, good for 11th place overall and third among Peach Belt schools. 20 schools overall competed at the regionals.

Men's and Women's Tennis

The AASU women's tennis team competed at the 2000 Florida Collegiates, hosted by Flagler College in St. Augustine, Fla., this weekend.

Freshman Zsofi Golopencza knocked off No. 1 seed Simona Galik of , 5-7, 6-1, 6-2, in the singles flight final. Golopencza's win over Galik, No. 1-ranked player in NAIA, gives the Budapest, Hungary, native a perfect 7-0 mark in singles play this fall. Golopencza also defeated the No. 2-ranked player in NCAA Division II, Anzela Zguna, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, and Bethune Cookman's Klara Miklikova, 6-2, 6-1, en route to the flight championship.

Junior Michaela Kratochvilova won her first match over Martina Tekalova of Bethune-Cookman, 6-3, 6-4, but was forced to withdraw from her singles match against North Florida's Julia Hartner, 3-6, 6-2, 2-4, because of injury.

Freshman Laura Puch lost her second-round singles match to Claudia Schiffczyk of North Florida, 6-2, 6-2, in Flight 2 singles action, while freshman Alejandra Aguilar split two matches in Flight 3 singles, defeating North Florida's Nicole Morris, 6-2, 6-0, but losing to Rollins' Carla Prieto, 6-1, 6-4.

In doubles action, Golopencza and teammate Michaela Kratochvilova defeated the top-seeded Rollins team of Anzela Zguna and Jenna Lavina, 6-3, 6-1, to capture the top doubles flight. The duo also defeated the Bethune-Cookman team of Miklikova and Kostrhounova, 6-1, 6-1, and the team of Margoulis and Lopez from Barry University, 6-3, 6-1.

The women's 2000 fall season has completed; next week, the men's team competes at the 2000 Florida Collegiates in St. Augustine, Fla., from Fri., Nov. 10 to Sun., Nov. 12.

Men's Golf

The AASU men's golf team hits the links this week for action in the 2000 Rollins College Intercollegiate Tournament on Mon., Nov. 6 and Tues., Nov. 7.

The tournament field features 16 teams, including five squads currently ranked in the Golfstat NCAA Division II Top 25 rankings: No. 4 West Florida, No. 12 Georgia College & State, No. 13 North Alabama, No. 14 Valdosta State and No. 17 Rollins.

Play begins at the Forest Lake Country Club in Ocoee, Fla., with 36 holes on Monday and concludes with 18 holes on Tuesday.

Freshmen Clay Best, Bill Faith, Travis Kelly, Andrew Suggs, Thomas Whittaker will represent the Pirates.

- Pirates -