PBC Serves Up Men's and Women's Tennis Tournaments on Friday

SAVANNAH, GA – The 2008 PBC men’s and women’s tennis tournaments are set to begin on Friday at Armstrong Atlantic State University with some matches being played at the Savannah Country Day School. 10 women’s teams and eight men’s teams will compete for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Admission to all matches is free.

On the men’s side, all eyes will be on the host Armstrong Atlantic State Pirates, the top seed in the tournament and #1 team in the nation. The Pirates blazed through the Peach Belt Conference with an 8-0 record, wrapping up the regular-season championship nearly a month ago. Also undefeated at 22-0 on the season, AASU’s lineup is stuffed with potential All-Americans.

Up top, Tim Johannsen will likely be at #1 with Robert Jendelund at #2. The two players are a combined 28-13 in singles play. Rafael Array and Paul Bishop have both seen time at #3, but AASU’s real strength is at 4-6 singles where Christian Bergh, Bishop and Davor Zink are a combined 55-6. Zink leads the PBC with his 20-1 dual record.

Lander is the second seed after a tiebreak win over GCSU. At 15-5 on the year, the Bearcats are ranked #15 nationally and have one of the deepest teams in the PBC with 11 players seeing action this year. Five different players have played at #1 and seven at #2 for Lander. T.C. Valle, Damien Cordesse and Andre Ivarsson each have 10 wins in singles this year. Lander has won nine of their last 10 matches heading into the PBC, their lone loss coming 5-4 to #8 Ouachita Baptist.

GCSU is the #3 seed in the PBC after going 6-2 in conference play. With a 17-2 singles record all at #1 singles, Erick Siqueira is the third-ranked singles player in the nation, the highest ranking of any PBC men’s tennis player. Francis Yoshimoto is ranked #22 nationally after going 16-3 all at #2 singles.

Francis Marion is the fourth seed and are a combined 46-8 at 1,2 and 3 singles. Columbus State is the fifth seed with Frank Suarez 13-6 at #1 singles and Guillermo Echevarria 13-5 at #2. USC Aiken enters the tournament as the #6 seed and sports the outstanding doubles team of Dagoberto Darezzo and Edward Horne, currently the highest-ranked doubles team in the PBC at #5 nationally. Augusta State’s Sergi Mullor is ranked 13th nationally for the seventh-seeded Jaguars. Mullor is 18-3 at #1 singles. Eighth-seeded North Georgia makes their first PBC Tournament appearance after becoming full NCAA Division II members last summer.

The PBC women’s tennis tournament will, like the men, have most of their attention fixed on the host, Armstrong Atlantic State. The 1995, 1996 and 2005 national champions are currently #2 in the nation with a 23-1 overall record. AASU has won the last four PBC tournaments and have not lost to any PBC team since 2003.

Leading the way for the Lady Pirates will be the 2007 PBC Player of the Year Iuliia Stupak. Stupak is currently the #2 singles player in the nation with a perfect 20-0 record at #1 singles. A six-time PBC Player of the Week this year, the senior is the only undefeated player at #1 singles. But AASU’s talent goes deeper with all six regular starters posting 20 or more wins. Alida Muller-Wehlau is a two-time PBC Player of the Week with a 20-3 record while Martina Beckmann is 22-1, Johanna Dahlback 20-3, Alisa Kagukina 20-2 and Gabriella Kovacs 21-2. AASU is also a combined 64-8 in doubles.

But the road to the PBC Tournament title is not easy. Clayton State is the #2 seed for the event after a resurgent season that saw the Lakers finish 18-2 and 8-1 in the PBC. Anna Redecsi is ranked 27th nationally after going 11-3 at #1 singles while Julia Chergova is 29th nationally with a 16-1 record at #2 singles. Clayton State is ranked #8 in the country.

Francis Marion is the #3 seed and ranked #9 nationally. The Patriots are 18-1, their best record in at least 10 years and have their highest PBC Tournament seed ever. Tereza Sykorova is ranked 10th nationally after finishing the regular season 16-1 at #1 singles.

Columbus State is seeded fourth after going 7-3 in conference play. The Lady Cougars have also won 12 of their last 14 heading into PBC play. Agata Polcyn is the 15th-ranked singles player in the nation with a 14-5 record at #1 singles. The doubles team of Polcyn and Lindsey Groenewald is ranked 20th nationally.

GCSU is seeded fifth. Celine Martin was named a PBC Player of the Week earlier this season and is 12-7 at #1 singles. Augusta State is the sixth seed. The doubles team of Fernanda Chiaparini and Nathalia Rodrigues is 14-4 at #1 doubles. USC Aiken is ranked 39th nationally with a 10-8 overall record. Kristen Hunter is 13-4 at #1 singles this year. Lander will be the eighth seed, North Georgia is #9 and UNC Pembroke the #10 seed.

The PBC men’s championship match is scheduled for Sunday at 2:00 p.m. while the women’s championship match will begin at noon. The finals will be held at the AASU tennis complex.  The official website of the PBC Tournament can be seen here.