No. 3 Lady Pirates Advance To PBC Final

JONESBORO, Ga. - The No. 3-ranked and top-seeded Armstrong Atlantic State women's tennis team picked up a pair of wins on Saturday to advance to the 2009 Peach Belt Conference Tennis Championship final, looking to win its sixth straight league tournament title.

The Lady Pirates (21-1) blanked USC Aiken, 5-0, and then defeated 11th-ranked and host Clayton State, 5-1, to earn a berth in Sunday's Noon final against Francis Marion.

In the morning's first match, AASU blanked the Lady Pacers by sweeping all three doubles matches, then picking up two quick 6-0, 6-0 singles wins. Alida Muller-Wehlau and Martina Beckmann defeated Stephanie Humphrey and Maria Soledad Angel, 8-2, at No. 1 doubles, while Sona Novakova and Gabriella Kovacs notched an 8-2 win over Mathilde Grenet and Brittany Telford, 8-2, at No. 2 doubles. Kathleen Henry and Tina Ronel defeated Melanie Schneider and Brittany Gore, 8-0, at No. 3 doubles.

Kovacs then blanked Angel, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 3 singles and Alisa Kagukina beat Melanie Schneider, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 6 singles to put the Lady Pirates into the semifinals.

There, the Pirates won two of three doubles matches, then took three singles wins in straight sets to move past the Lady Lakers and into the final. Beckmann and Muller-Wehlau blanked Katie White and Viktoriya Semyrodenko, 8-0, at No. 1 doubles, while Kovacs and Novakova beat Evelin Csizi and Veronika Jasenovocova, 8-0, at No. 2 doubles. Selma Hidass and Marie Cercellenti picked up Clayton State's lone point with an 8-6 win over Henry and Ronel at No. 3 doubles.

In singles, top-ranked Novakova defeated White, 6-0, 6-2, at No. 1 singles, while Kovacs picked up a 6-2, 6-4 win over Hidass at No. 4 singles and Ronel defeated Jasenovcova, 6-4, 6-2, at No. 5 singles to clinch the match for the Lady Pirates.