Pirates Place Three In ITA Southeast Region Singles Finals

SUMTER, S.C. - Armstrong Atlantic State features three of the four finalists in singles action of the 2009 ITA Southeast Regional after Sunday's action at the Palmetto Tennis Center in Sumter, S.C.

The singles finals on Monday will feature top-seeded sophomore Sona Novakova and second-seeded junior Alida Muller-Wehlau of AASU in the women's bracket, while Pirate junior Rafael Array will take on Flagler's David Cotrone in the men's bracket final. The winners of each match will advance to the 2009 ITA Small College National Championships in Mobile, Ala., on October 15-18 in Mobile, Ala.

Novakova moved into the finals after picking up a 6-1, 6-0 quarterfinal win over teammate Martina Beckmann, then notching a 6-2, 6-3 win over Sabina Barbaradova of Francis Marion. Alida Muller-Wehlau advanced to face Novakova after defeating Hanane Toumi of Columbus State, 6-0, 6-1, and Tereza Sykorova, 6-2, 6-3, on Sunday. Novakova is the defending DII women's singles champion.

Meanwhile, Rafael Array Notched a 6-4, 6-2 quarterfinal win over teammate Paul Fitzgerald, then upset Frank Suarez of Columbus State, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, to move into the men's singles final against Cotrone. Cotrone knocked off AASU junior Mikk Irdoja, 6-4, 7-6 (4), to advance to the final, after Irdoja had picked up a 6-3, 6-2 win over Miguel Zuniga Lopez of Limestone.

The Pirates' luck in doubles play was not as good as teams from both the men's and women's side fell in the finals. Top-seeded Martina Beckmann and Muller-Wehlau defeated teammates Kathleen Henry and Tina Ronel, 8-1, but lost a 9-7 decision to FMU's Barbaradova and Sykorova in the final. The FMU pair knocked off Novakova and Gabriella Kovacs of AASU, 8-4, in the semifinals.

On the men's side, Irdoja and Array earned a berth in the final with an 8-4 win over Casagrande and Leborgne of GCSU, but dropped a 9-8 (6) heartbreaker to top-seeded Wijemanne and Sharifi of host FMU in the final.

The men's and women's singles final will take place at 9:00 a.m. on Monday morning in Sumter, S.C.