FLORENCE, SC – Francis Marion University will serve as host of the 2006 Peach Belt Conference men's and women's tennis championships, Thursday through Saturday at the Palmetto Tennis Center in Sumter.

Admission to the event will be free. Three matches will be played simultaneously at the 18-court facility.

Starting match times will be 9 a.m., noon, and 3 p.m. on Thursday and 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., and 5 p.m. on Friday. The third-place matches for both the men's and women's events will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday, followed by the championship matches at noon.

The nine-team women's field includes eight squads ranked in the latest FILA/ITA Collegiate Tennis NCAA Division II Top 40. Armstrong Atlantic State University, the defending NCAA Division II national champion, is the top seed. The Lady Pirates have won their last 52 consecutive matches, including a 22-0 mark this season.

The Francis Marion women enter the tournament as the fourth seed with a program-best 17-4 mark and a No. 11 national ranking. The Patriots, winners of their last 10 matches, will meet fifth-seeded Georgia College & State University (14-6) in a quarterfinal match at 9 a.m. on Thursday. FMU edged the Bobcats 5-4 earlier this season, March 5 in Milledgeville, Ga.

The eighth-ranked Francis Marion men (16-1) are also on a roll, having won 15 straight matches. The Patriots are the third seed in the eight-team men's field. FMU will face the sixth-seeded GC&SU men (12-11) in a quarterfinal match, Thursday at 3 p.m. Included in the FMU winning streak is a 6-3 road victory over GC&SU.

All eight of the men’s teams are nationally ranked, including top-seeded and defending tournament champion AASU (13-6), which is ranked seventh.

Neither FMU squad has ever won the PBC Tournament title, although the Patriot men did earn a share of the 1999 regular-season crown. AASU has won or shared 11 of the previous 14 women's tournaments, while Lander has won 11 of the 14 men's tournaments. 

The FMU women's squad is led by sophomore Jenny Ludwig, who is ranked 34th nationally in singles with a 17-5 record, and junior Kamini Murugaboopathy, who is ranked 50th with an 18-3 mark. Ludwig has won her last 13 singles matches, all in straight sets, while Murugaboopathy has won her last 10 matches, also all in straight sets. The pair's doubles team is ranked 19th in Division II with a 15-4 record, including 11 consecutive wins.

On the men's side, senior Kevin Taylor occupies the No. 1 singles slot for FMU. He is ranked third nationally with a 16-4 record, while junior David Budler plays at No. 2 singles and has compiled a 14-3 record. The two also play doubles together and have recorded a 13-2 mark while being ranked eighth in Division II.

Taylor placed third at last fall’s ITA National Small College Championships.