SAVANNAH, Ga. – The No. 2-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State women's tennis team earned a berth in its 13th straight Round of 16 with a 5-0 win over No. 16-ranked Francis Marion in the Mid-Atlantic Regional championship match on Friday morning.FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 5-3-07
2007 Mid-Atlantic Regional: No. 2 AASU 5, No. 16 Francis Marion 0
SAVANNAH, Ga. – The No. 2-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State women's tennis team earned a berth in its 13th straight Round of 16 with a 5-0 win over No. 16-ranked Francis Marion in the Mid-Atlantic Regional championship match on Friday morning.
AASU (27-0) won quickly at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles, but Francis Marion's top doubles duo of Sarka Vitkova and Jenny Ludwig came up with two key breaks to push the Pirates' top-ranked duo of Dziyana Nazaruk and Iuliia Stupak to the brink. Up 8-7, Nazaruk - the lone senior on the Pirates' squad this season - held serve to pick up the 9-7 win and give AASU a 3-0 advantage heading into singles.
The bottom of the lineup came through in singles as Alisa Kagukina came up with a quick 6-0, 6-0 win over Sarah Hickman at No. 6 singles, then Sofia Haggstrom picked up a 6-1, 6-0 win over Elizabeth Lee to clinch the match. The win extends AASU's perfect start to the 2007 season and the Pirates have now won 114 of their last 116 matches, dating back to 2004. Francis Marion, who defeated GCSU 5-3 yesterday in first-round action, ends its season at 16-8.
The Lady Pirates will now advance to the NCAA DII Women's Tennis Round of 16, to take place in Altamonte Springs on May 9-12 at Sanlando Park. AASU's first-round opponent will be No. 30-ranked Bloomsburg on Wednesday, May 9.
- Pirates -
2007 Mid-Atlantic Regional - Championship Match
AASU 5, Francis Marion 0
Singles
#1 - Iuliia Stupak (AASU) led Sarka Vitkova (FMU) 6-0, 5-1, match stopped, clinched
#2 - Johanna Dahlback (AASU) led Kamini Murugaboopathy (FMU) 6-1, 3-1, match stopped, clinched
#3 - Dziyana Nazaruk (AASU) led Jenny Ludwig (FMU) 6-2, 4-1, match stopped, clinched
#4 - Gabriella Kovacs (AASU) led Magda Jezovicova (FMU) 6-2, 6-0, match stopped, clinched
#5 - Sofia Haggstrom (AASU) def. Elizabeth Lee (FMU) 6-1, 6-0
#6 - Alisa Kagukina (AASU) def. Sarah Hickman (FMU) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles
#1 - Stupak/Nazaruk (AASU) def. Vitkova/Ludwig (FMU) 9-7
#2 - Dahlback/Martina Beckmann (AASU) def. Maria Covell/Murugaboopathy (FMU) 8-1
#3 - Haggstrom/Kovacs (AASU) def. Lee/Jezovicova (FMU) 8-3
Records: AASU (27-0), Francis Marion (16-8)