SAVANNAH, GA – Top-ranked and defending NCAA Division II national champion Armstrong Atlantic State University captured a 5-0 win over 16th-ranked Francis Marion University on Friday morning (May 5) to win the Mid-Atlantic Regional Women's Tennis Tournament and advance to the NCAA's Round of 16.
The win was the 57th consecutive victory for the Lady Pirates, who have now made 12 straight appearances in the Round of 16. The national finals are scheduled for May 10-13 in Kansas City, Mo.
AASU (27-0) took a 3-0 advantage after the doubles competition, as its three nationally ranked duos lost only five games combined. The fourth-ranked team of Luisa Cowper and Iuliia Stupak defeated FMU's 18th-ranked doubles team of Jenny Ludwig and Kamini Murugaboopathy 8-1 at No. 1 doubles, and AASU's seventh-ranked team of Manuela Emmrich and Caroline Grage defeated Sarka Vitkova and Magda Jezovicova 8-3 at No. 2 doubles. Johanna Dahlback and Dziyana Nazaruk, ranked 12th in Division II, finished the doubles sweep with an 8-1 win over FMU's Elizabeth Lee and Maria Covell at the No. 3 position.
Cowper, the No. 2-ranked singles player in the nation, remained unbeaten in singles this spring with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Vitkova at No. 1 singles. Grage, ranked 42nd in singles, then clinched the match with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Sarah Hickman at No. 6 singles.
Francis Marion, making its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1999, ended the year with a program-best 20-6 record. The Patriots had no seniors on this year's roster.
2006 NCAA II Women’s Tennis Mid-Atlantic Regional - Championship
#1 AASU 5, #16 Francis Marion 0
Singles
#1 - #2 Luisa Cowper (AASU) def. Sarka Vitkova (FMU) 6-0, 6-0
#2 - #5 Iuliia Stupak (AASU) led #38 Jenny Ludwig (FMU) 6-0, 4-1, match stopped, clinched
#3 - #8 Dziyana Nazaruk (AASU) led #50 Kamini Murugaboopathy (FMU) 6-3, 3-1, match stopped
#4 - #24 Johanna Dahlback (AASU) led Magda Jezovicova (FMU) 6-0, 2-0, match stopped, clinched
#5 - #49 Manuela Emmrich (AASU) led Elizabeth Lee (FMU) 6-1, 4-1, match stopped, clinched
#6 - #42 Caroline Grage (AASU) def. Sarah Hickman (FMU) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles
#1 - #4 Cowper/Stupak (AASU) def. #18 Ludwig/Murugaboopathy (FMU) 8-1
#2 - #7 Emmrich/Grage (AASU) def. Jezovicova/Vitkova (FMU) 8-3
#3 - #12 Dahlback/Nazaruk (AASU) def. Lee/Maria Covell (FMU) 8-1
Records: AASU (27-0), Francis Marion (20-6)
Men's Sports
