Pirates Almost Perfect After First Day Of ITA Southeat Regional

SUMTER, S.C. - The Armstrong Atlantic State men's and women's tennis teams enjoyed a nearly perfect first day of action on Friday at the 2009 ITA Southeast Regional in Sumter, S.C.

The Pirate and Lady Pirate players combined to go 11-1 in singles and doubles action after Friday's first rounds of play. Play began in doubles with Paul Fitzgerald and Daniel Regan picking up a 9-7 upset win over No. 7-seeded Beliankou and Nucci of GCSU in the A Doubles bracket. On the women's side, Kathleen Henry and Tina Ronel notched an 8-0 win over the Converse duo of Harrelson and Yando.

In Men's Singles A bracket action, No. 5-8 seed Fitzgerald defeated Gabriel Santana of Mount Olive, 6-0, 6-0, while No. 9-16 seed Rafael Array notched a 6-1, 6-1 win over Henrique Nordquist of Limestone and No. 4 seed Mikk Irdoja defeated Johan De Wit of Pfeiffer, 6-0, 6-1. Daniel Regan suffered a first-round 6-3, 6-3 loss to Gregory Andrade of USC Aiken.

In Women's Singles A bracket action, No. 2 seed Alida Muller-Wehlau notched a 6-0, 6-0 win over Jimena Munez of Limestone, while No. 5-8 seed Martina Beckmann picked up a 6-2, 6-1 win over Brittany Telford of USC Aiken. No. 4 seed Gabriella Kovacs defeated Bianca Machado of Augusta State, 6-2, 6-1, and No. 9-16 seed Tina Ronel scored a 6-1, 7-5 win over Britton Bignon of Erskine. No. 9-16 seed Kathleen Henry defeated Soledad Angel of USC Aiken, 6-1, 6-1, and No. 9-16 seed Alisa Kagukina knocked off Marie Cercelletti of Clayton State, 6-2, 6-1.

Play continues with second-round singles and doubles action on Saturday beginning at 8:00 a.m.