This Week In Armstrong Atlantic State Athletics, 1-22-01

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 1-22-01

This Week In Armstrong Atlantic State Athletics

Monday, January 22
No Events Scheduled

Tuesday, January 23
No Events Scheduled

Wednesday, January 24
• Women's Basketball at UNC Pembroke, 5:30 p.m.
• Men's Basketball at UNC Pembroke, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, January 25
No Events Scheduled

Friday, January 26
No Events Scheduled

Saturday, January 27
• Baseball vs. St. Andrews (DH), 11:00 a.m. (Opening Day)
• Women's Basketball at Kennesaw State, 2:00 p.m.
• Men's Basketball at Kennesaw State, 4:00 p.m.

Sunday, January 28
• Baseball vs. St. Andrews, 1:00 p.m.

Men's Basketball (14-5 Overall, 6-0 PBC)

The Armstrong Atlantic State men's basketball team ran its winning streak to seven games with two road wins on the week, defeating North Florida and Georgia College & State.

Wednesday, Tavares Brown's three-pointer with 46 seconds left clinched a 79-76 win at North Florida and gave head coach Griff Mills his 149^th career head coaching victory, making him the all-time leader in school history in men's basketball victories. Junior Mick Jordan hit 7-of-11 three-pointers to lead the Pirates with a career-high 23 points, while senior Robert Campbell added 12 points and 10 assists and Donta Humphries chipped in 16 points.

Saturday, the Pirates trailed host Georgia College & State by 13 points, 58-45, with 6:33 remaining but rallied to tie the game at 65-all at the end of regulation, then came away with a 73-68 win in overtime. Senior Cyrille Mainnemarre hit the tying basket with five seconds left in regulation, then scored the first four points of overtime to give AASU the victory. Campbell led the Pirates with 19 points while Mainnemarre added 14 points and sophomore Joel Lecoeuvre chipped in a career-best 12 points on four-of-five shooting from three-point range.

This week, coach Mills' squad wraps up a four-game conference road swing with a Wed., Jan. 24 matchup at UNC Pembroke at 7:30 p.m., then a Sat., Jan. 27 game at Kennesaw State at 4:00 p.m.

Women's Basketball (7-9 Overall, 2-4 PBC)

Coach Roger Hodge's Lady Pirates dropped two tough games on the week, losing by two at North Florida and falling by 11 to Georgia College & State.

Wednesday evening Lady Pirates did not score a field goal in the first eight minutes of the game and allowed the Lady Ospreys to open up a 36-10 lead in the first half, but battled back to come within two points, falling to UNF 71-69. Sophomore Zandrique Cason led the Lady Pirates with 22 points and 10 rebounds, her 14^th double-double of the season, while junior Lexie Martin chipped in 21 points.

On Saturday, Georgia College & State forced 28 Armstrong Atlantic State turnovers and went 8-of-10 from the free throw line in the final minute to come away with a 75-64 victory over the Lady Pirates.

GC&SU led by four at halftime, 41-37, but the Lady Pirates came out in the second half and took the lead by one on a Michelle Hubbard three-pointer and a Lori Green basket, 42-41, but the Lady Bobcats would reassert control with a 17-4 run over the next eight minutes. Senior guard

Michelle Hubbard led the Lady Pirates with 18 points, while Lexie Martin added 13 points. Sophomore Zandrique Cason was held to just five points – her lowest total of the season – but recorded a game-high 13 rebounds.

AASU wraps up a four-game conference road swing this week with a Wed., Jan. 24 matchup at UNC Pembroke at 5:30 p.m., then a Sat., Jan. 27 game at Kennesaw State at 2:00 p.m.

Baseball

Head coach Joe Roberts' baseball squad opens the 2001 season with a three-game weekend series against St. Andrews. The Pirates, ranked No. 28 in the Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division II Preseason poll, host a doubleheader against the Knights on Sat., Jan. 27 at 11:00 a.m., then host a single game on Sat., Jan. 28 at 1:00 p.m.

AASU returns just six players from last season's squad that finished the season with a 37-17 record and a No. 25 national ranking. Senior B.J. Brinkmeier (5-6, 3.25) is the top returning pitcher while senior Bill Keifer (.353, 2 HR, 18 RBI) and sophomore Chris Boaen (.293, 1 HR, 12 RBI) are the leading returning hitters.

The Pirates play their first 33 games at home in 2001 and will have 39 home games in all and will have 19 games against teams ranked in the preseason during the year.

Women's Tennis

Junior Michaela Kratochvilova and freshman Zsofi Golopencza advanced to the finals of the Georgia Invitational in Athens, Ga., over the weekend, picking up another win over a Top 10-ranked NCAA Division I team in the process.

The duo, who already had beaten the No. 9-ranked team in Division I when the defeated Tennessee's Castellvi/Ojeda at the South Carolina Fall Invitational, this time knocked off the No. 1 seeded team of Carolina Maygora and Sarah Witten of Kentucky, 9-7, in the quarterfinals.

Kratochvilova and Golopencza then defeated Brenau's Tonya Grib and Gina Gutierrez, 9-7, in the quarterfinals and knocked off Illinois' Eldina Fazlic and Michele Webb in the semifinals before falling to the No. 2 seeded team of Lauren Rookledge and Brooke Skeen, 8-6, in the finals.

In singles action, Golopencza advanced to the semifinals, picking up wins over Paulina Castillejos of Kansas State (6-0, 6-0), and Amelie Detriviere of Mississippi State (6-4, 7-6) before losing to the No. 2 seeded Bruna Colosio of Louisiana State, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. Kratochvilova won her opening round matches against Libby Fletcher of Brenau (6-3, 6-2) and Camilla Sagae of Mississippi State (1-6, 6-2, 6-1) before having to default to the No. 1 seed, Anne Nguyen of Georgia, trailing 3-0 in the first set.

The AASU men's and women's tennis teams open the spring dual match season on Sunday, February 3 at USC Spartanburg at 1:00 p.m.

- Pirates -