No. 3 Lady Pirates Advance To National Championship Match!

The No. 3-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State women's tennis team will play for their fifth NCAA Division II National Championship after knocking off No. 4 Valdosta State, 5-1, on Friday afternoon at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla.

The Lady Pirates took three straight-set singles wins to defeat the Lady Blazers. 19th-ranked Gabriella Kovacs defeated Kristel de Groot, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 4 singles, then top-ranked Sona Novakova (pictured) defeated No. 14-ranked Natali Grumbrecht, 6-3, 6-0, at No. 1 singles. 30th-ranked Martina Beckmann then closed out the match with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Tina Trautmann at No. 3 singles.

AASU will now match up against No. 1 Lynn in the final - like the men, a rematch of last year's national championship match. The two teams met earlier this season in Boca Raton, and Lynn overcame a 4-0 deficit to win, 5-4, handing AASU its only loss of the 2009 season.

If you can, make the short drive down to Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs to root on the Pirates, as they try to win back-to-back men's and women's national championship matches!