AASU's Dahlback Captures ITA 'Super Bowl' Women's Tennis Title

MOBILE, Ala. - Senior Johanna Dahlback defeated Monika Lalewicz of Abraham Baldwin, 6-3, 6-3, on Sunday morning to capture the 2007 ITA "Super Bowl" Of Small College Tennis singles title, becoming just the second Armstrong Atlantic State player in school history to accomplish the feat.

Dahlback, who emerged from the field of champions from Division III, NAIA and Junior College, joins Zsofia Golopencza (2003) as Super Bowl titlists. The Hasselby, Sweden, native now earns a wild card berth in the upcoming ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, hosted by Ohio State on November 1-4.

"I'm very excited," Dahlback said after the match. "The 'Super Bowl' is the biggest thing to win individually at Division II and I'm looking forward to going to Ohio State and see how some of the Division I players are playing."

A fourth-year senior, Dahlback ended the 2007 season as the No. 7-ranked singles player in Division II. As a freshman in 2005, she clinched AASU's third NCAA DII National Championship with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Tetyana Bula of BYU-Hawaii, giving the Lady Pirates the 5-3 win in the title match.

She ascended to No. 20 in singles as a sophomore in 2006, going 22-7 in singles play, then as a junior went 32-6 in singles play and was named the ITA's Mid-Atlantic Region "Player To Watch" for the upcoming season.

Dahlback ranks the 'Super Bowl' highly among her career accomplishments, but recognizes that a lot has changed since her freshman year in AASU's championship run. "When I was a freshman, I was just playing," Dahlback said. "I didn't know how big matches were. Now, though, I know how big it is to win this title. It means a lot to me."

Dahlback follows in the footsteps of Golopencza, who captured the 2003 Super Bowl title and was the only wild card entry to win a match at the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships that year. The draws for the ITA Indoors will be determined after the final DI Regional tournaments are completed by October 28.