No. 3 Lady Pirates Blaze Trail To NCAA Championship Match

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla.- The No. 3-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State women's tennis squad is back in the NCAA Division II National Championship match for a 10th time in school history after Friday afternoon's 5-1 win over No. 4 Valdosta State at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla.

Playing at the same site that netted them the 2005 NCAA DII National Championship, the Lady Pirates (27-1) won two of three doubles matches, then took three straight set singles matches against the Blazers (17-5) to set up a rematch of last year's title tilt as well. AASU will face No. 1-ranked Lynn on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. for a chance at the Lady Pirates' fifth NCAA DII National Championship.

No. 12-ranked Kathleen Henry and Tina Ronel got the Lady Pirates started at No. 3 doubles with an 8-2 win over Sonya Haggstrom and Kristel de Groot. No. 2-ranked Martina Beckmann and Alida Muller-Wehlau followed with an 8-1 win over Raphaelle Durante and Karen Redon at No. 1 singles. Valdosta State picked up its point with an 8-6 win by Natalie Gumbrecht and Tina Trautmann over No. 7 Sona Novakova and Gabrielle Kovacs at No. 2 doubles.

In singles play, 19th-ranked Kovacs defeated de Groot, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 4 singles, then top-ranked Novakova defeated No. 14-ranked Grumbrecht, 6-3, 6-0, at No. 1 singles. 30th-ranked Beckmann then closed out the match with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Tina Trautmann at No. 3 singles.

If the regular season matchup between AASU and Lynn is any indication, Saturday's national championship match should be a great one. AASU led, 4-0, in the earlier meeting in Boca Raton, but Lynn won five straight singles points to take the match, 5-4. That is the Lady Pirates' only loss this season.