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This Week In Armstrong Atlantic State Athletics

Monday, January 29
No Events Scheduled

Tuesday, January 30
No Events Scheduled

Wednesday, January 31
• Women's Basketball vs. North Florida, 5:30 p.m.
• Men's Basketball vs. North Florida, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, February 1
No Events Scheduled

Friday, February 2
No Events Scheduled

Saturday, February 3
• Baseball vs. Gardner-Webb (DH), 11:30 a.m.
• Women's Tennis at USC Spartanburg, 1:00 p.m.
• Men's Tennis at USC Spartanburg, 1:00 p.m.
• Women's Basketball at Columbus State, 2:00 p.m.
• Men's Basketball at Columbus State, 4:00 p.m.

Sunday, February 4
• Baseball vs. Gardner-Webb, 1:00 p.m.

Men's Basketball (16-5 Overall, 8-0 PBC, No. 4 South Atlantic Region)

The Armstrong Atlantic State men's basketball team won two more road games on the week, pushing its win streak to nine games with victories at UNC Pembroke and Kennesaw State.

On Wednesday, sophomore Joel Lecoeuvre sparked the Pirate offense by hitting six-of-nine three-pointers en route to a career-high 20 points as AASU knocked off the Braves, 79-71. Lecoeuvre paced five Pirates in double figures as Robert Campbell added 16 points and Mick Jordan pumped in 13. AASU hit 13-of-21 three-pointers on the evening (61.9 percent) in the win.

Saturday, the Pirates continued their hot shooting from long distance by hitting 11-of-13 three-pointers in am 81-76 win over Kennesaw State, the Pirates' fourth-straight win over the Owls. Campbell was the story for AASU as he scored 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the floor and passed Foy Balance on the AASU all-time scoring chart. Campbell is now No. 3 in total points for his career with 1,344.

This week, coach Mills' squad returns home for a 7:30 p.m. matchup with North Florida on Wed., Jan. 31, then travels to Columbus State on Sat., Feb. 2 for a 4:00 p.m. date with the Cougars.

Women's Basketball (7-11 Overall, 2-6 PBC)

Coach Hodge's Lady Pirates dropped two road games on the week, losing at UNC Pembroke on Wednesday and at No. 14 Kennesaw State on Saturday.

Wednesday, the Pirates were held without a field goal for the final 6:30 of the game as UNC Pembroke erased a seven-point second-half deficit to come away with a 77-72 victory. Sophomore Zandrique Cason led the Lady Pirates with 12 points while junior Lori Green recorded her first double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Lexie Martin had 11 points, including three consecutive three-pointers in the second half that allowed the Lady Pirates to build a 61-54 lead, but UNCP rallied back, taking the lead with 4:12 remaining at 71-69 and never relinquishing the lead.

On Saturday, No. 14-ranked Kennesaw State held the Lady Pirates to just 31 percent shooting from the floor and forced 30 AASU turnovers en route to an 87-60 victory, the Lady Owls' 10^th straight over the Lady Pirates.

AASU and Kennesaw State played a close first half until the Lady Owls used a 19-3 run midway through the first half to take a commanding 33-16 lead. KSU then shot 50 percent in the second half, while holding the Lady Pirates to just 26.7 percent in the second half, to cruise to the victory. Zandrique Cason led the Lady Pirates with 17 points while junior Becky Thrift added 13 points. AASU hit just 16-of-51 field goals on the evening.

The Lady Pirates finally return home for a 5:30 p.m. matchup with North Florida on Wed., Jan. 31, then visit No. 1-ranked Columbus State on Sat., Feb. 2 at 2:00 p.m.

Baseball (3-0 Overall, No. 28 NCAA Division II Coaches' Poll)

Head coach Joe Roberts' baseball squad opened the 2001 season successfully with a three-game sweep of St. Andrews over the weekend.

Saturday, the Pirates took a doubleheader sweep of the Knights, 12-3 and 9-4. Junior David Harriman drove in five runs and junior outfielder Rob Mills drove in four in support of senior B.J. Brinkmeier, who limited St. Andrews to two runs while striking out six batters in six innings for his first win of the season. In the second game, the Pirates erased a 4-0 St. Andrews lead with seven runs in the fifth inning to come away with the 9-4 victory. Junior Kyle Murdock pitched three innings of scoreless relief to pick up the victory.

On Sunday, freshman second baseman Ryan Chromek went 5-for-5 with four singles and a double as the Pirates downed the Knights, 8-1, for the series sweep. Chromek drove in two and scored twice and ended up hitting 9-for-11 in the series (.818). Junior Kyle Blevins went five innings, giving up three hits and one run for his first win of the season.

AASU returns to action on Sat., Feb. 3 as they host Gardner-Webb for a three-game series, beginning with a doubleheader at 11:30 a.m. and concluding with a single game on Sun., Feb. 4 at 1:00 p.m. Gardner-Webb advanced to the DII World Series in 2000 and is making the transition to NCAA Division I.

Men's and Women's Tennis (Men: No. 7 ITA DII National Ranking)

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.

Both the men's and women's tennis squads finished the 2000 season with undefeated conference marks, a first for the Peach Belt.

The AASU men, ranked No. 7 in the ITA Division II Fall rankings, return six players from last season's squad that advanced to the NCAA Division II National Championships. Seniors Stefan Wirtz and Christopher Petersen, DII All-Americas in 2000, are set to lead the Pirates into 2001.

The AASU women's team returns just one player from 2000 in junior Michaela Kratochvilova, a DII All-America in singles and doubles, but adds six new players, including freshman Zsofi Golopencza, who enters the spring with a No. 25 national ranking after two fall tournaments for the Pirates.

- Pirates -