Lady Pirates Visit WTOC-TV's "Mid Morning Live" On Thursday

Martina Beckmann, Alida Muller-Wehlau and Alisa Kagukina visited with Jody Chapin and Mike Cihla on WTOC TV's "Mid-Morning Live" on Thursday morning, talking about their three straight NCAA Division II National Championships !

The trio showed off the trophies, chatted about the hard work they've put in not only this season but over the last three years and also talked about their future plans - of course Alida will be back next year with the Lady Pirates, but Martina has been accepted to graduate school and will be continuing her studies here in Savannah.

Remember, tomorrow morning you can hear head coach Simon Earnshaw on WTKS 1290 AM as he speaks with Bill Edwards and Karl DeMasi at 7:07 a.m.

Celebration Continues For AASU Women's Tennis !

The 2010 AASU Women's Tennis squad has returned to Savannah and started to garner media attention here in the Coastal Empire. But first, view a video produced by the AASU Media Productions department chronicling the national championship !

WSAV-TV 3's Ken Slats filed this report from the welcome back ceremonies on Sunday. Coming up on Thursday, Alida Muller-Wehlau, Martina Beckmann and Alisa Kagukina will go to WTOC-TV 11 and appear on "Mid Morning Live with Sonny & Jody" at 9:30 a.m. Friday morning, head coach Simon Earnshaw will appear on WTKS 1290 AM with Bill Edwards and Karl DeMasi bright and early at 7:07 a.m. !

EDIT: Thanks to the NCAA (and especially Bonnie Senappe!) now the NCAA.com's women's tennis page features a pic of Gabriella Kovacs with the championship story!

Lady Pirates Return To Savannah !

The three-time NCAA DII National Champion Armstrong Atlantic State Lady Pirates returned to Savannah with yet another trophy in tow. Today at the AASU Tennis Complex, the public got a chance to welcome back the Lady Pirates; coaches and players enjoyed refreshments and also met with the local media. An enthusiastic group of around 50 welcomed back the Lady Pirates - an event that never gets old !

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS, THREE STRAIGHT! No. 1 Lady Pirates Complete 5-1 Win Over BYU-Hawaii

The "three-peat" is intact for the Armstrong Atlantic State University Lady Pirates ! And just as it was a year ago, senior Gabriella Kovacs provided the match-clinching moment as she beat Shawni Porter, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 4 singles to give AASU their sixth NCAA Division II Women's Tennis National Championship !

Singles play began with the Lady Pirates taking four of the first six sets. Sona Novakova and Martina Beckmann, who dropped their first sets, rallied to split sets, then No. 49-ranked Kathleen Henry beat Sophia Simmons, 6-2, 6-4, to give AASU its first singles point. No. 21-ranked Tina Ronel followed with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Ayako Ikeda at No. 3 singles, and less an two minutes later, Kovacs finished off Porter for the match victory!

AASU now joins a select group of DII schools to earn three consecutive NCAA Division II Women's Tennis titles - Chattanooga (1983-85), SIU Edwardsville (1986-89) and Saturday's opponent, BYU-Hawaii (2002-04).

Tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m., AASU will host a championship celebration for the Lady Pirates at Alumni Arena. So come out and greet the Lady Pirates as they bring home the National Championship trophy to Savannah for a third straight year !

Lady Pirates Take 2-1 Lead After Doubles In Championship

The top-ranked two-time defending NCAA DII national champion Armstrong Atlantic State Lady Pirates have taken a 2-1 lead after doubles play here on Saturday morning at Sanlando Park over No. 3 BYU-Hawai'i.

The seventh-ranked doubles duo of Gabriella Kovacs and Sona Novakova struck first for AASU, defeating No. 24-ranked Ayako Ikeda and Shawni Porter, 8-4, at No. 2 doubles. BYU-Hawai'i got on the board at No. 3 doubles as Jenny Chin and Salina Aranda knocked off No. 23-ranked Kathleen Henry and Tina Ronel, 8-2.

All eyes shifted to No. 1 doubles where No. 3-ranked Alida Muller-Wehlau and Martina Beckmann (pictured) took out the top-ranked duo of Yuan Jia and Elwin Li, 8-5, for the key 2-1 doubles lead.

Singles play is about to begin, and it's pretty simple from here.. AASU needs three singles wins for their sixth NCAA DII National Championship !

Championship Saturday Is Here!

Welcome back to Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla., for the 2010 NCAA Division II Women's Tennis National Championship match between Armstrong Atlantic State and BYU-Hawai'i. This will be the fifth time that these two schools have met with a title on the line, but the last meeting between these two teams came in the 2008 NCAA DII semifinals in Houston, Texas - a 5-1 win by AASU en route to the national title.

You can watch all the action today via NCAA.com's live streaming as well as following along on live stats here. Let's go Pirates !

On To The Finals! AASU Closes Out Hawai'i Pacific, 5-0

After the big lead in doubles, the top-ranked Lady Pirates swept a pair of straight-set singles matches to advance to the 2010 NCAA Division II Women's Tennis National Championship match - the 11th appearance for AASU in the national finals.

Fourth-ranked Alida Muller-Wehlau defeated Nina Mihova, 6-2, 6-0, at No. 2 singles, then Kathleen Henry (pictured) knocked off Sandra Wikstrom, 6-1, 6-4, at No. 5 singles to clinch the victory!

After the win, head coach Simon Earnshaw and four Lady Pirates - Muller-Wehlau, Henry, Martina Beckmann and Tina Ronel - did interviews with CBS in preparation for their spring sports highlight show. Simon also was interviewed by NCAA.com for their recap article today. The rest of the team watched the other semifinal match, where BYU-Hawai'i's senior Jenny Chin outlasted Lynn's Tessie Salame, 6-4, 0-6, 6-2, to give the Seasiders a 5-4 win. So the final is set - AASU will meet BYU-Hawai'i at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday in the national championship match. BYU-Hawai'i has won an NCAA record seven women's tennis DII national titles, and the Lady Pirates have won the second most - five.

Lady Pirates Tough Out 3-0 Lead In Doubles Over HPU

There's something to be said for bringing an experienced squad to the 2010 NCAA DII National Tennis Championships. All seven members of the Lady Pirates' squad return from last year's title team, and the experience to not get flustered when adversity rears its head showed this morning for AASU.

The Lady Pirates have a 3-0 lead in doubles over Hawai'i Pacific thanks to Martina Beckmann and Alida Muller-Wehlau's 8-2 win over Ingrid Cseh and Zora Vickova at No. 1 doubles. At No. 2 doubles, Gabriella Kovacs and Sona Novakova spotted Alexandra Stankovic and Sandra Wikstrom a 7-2 lead, but then won seven straight games for a 9-7 victory. At No. 3 doubles, Kathleen Henry and Tina Ronel (pictured) led 6-3 when Ronel slipped and fell chasing down a ball on the baseline. Shaken up briefly, HPU's duo of Nina and Tinka Mihova won the next three games to tie things up 6-6, but a break by the Lady Pirates stopped the streak and Ronel served out the 8-6 win.

In the other semifinal match, Lynn is up 2-1 over BYU-Hawai'i.

Semifinal Friday at Sanlando Park

Welcome to Semifinal Friday at the 2010 NCAA Division II Tennis Championships at Sanlando Park. This morning the top-ranked Lady Pirates face off against No. 9 Hawai'i Pacific. Side note: I apologize if I mis-place the ' in Hawai'i - us mainlanders have a hard time with spellings! The other semifinal pits Lynn and BYU-Hawai'i. Since 1995, only three schools have won the NCAA DII Women's Tennis National Championship, and all three are in action today - AASU, Lynn and BYU-Hawai'i. The Lynn-BYUH match is the NCAA.com TV match, but live stats will be in action today for AASU vs. Hawai'i Pacific.

As promised, a few notes from the AASU men's tennis run over the last three years. In 2008, the Pirates won 30 matches for first time since 1985 (when AASU was Division I and a member of the Big South Conference) ... and then proceeded to win 30+ each of the next two seasons for 91 wins in 94 matches in the span. AASU was 30-2 this season - and was 24-2 against teams ranked in the ITA's Top 35, meaning they played just six matches against unranked opponents this season. And perhaps the best note of all - AASU loses just one player from the starting six this season, senior Paul Fitzgerald, who in two seasons went 48-2 in singles play during the dual match season after joining AASU from Abraham Baldwin.

Third Time's A Charm For Barry

The No. 4-ranked Barry Buccaneers had been bounced by the Pirates in each of the last two NCAA DII National Championship matches, but the third time was a charm as Barry completed a 5-2 victory over the two-time defending DII champion Pirates this afternoon, advancing to the semifinals.

When the two teams met in last year's championship match, Rafael Array (pictured) went three sets to beat Roman Werschel for the title - the only match of the six singles matches to go to three sets. When the two teams met in Las Vegas earlier this season, three matches went to three sets. In a testament to how evenly matched these teams were, four of the six singles matches today went to three sets - and one could have had play continued. Svigelj clinched the match for the Bucs with a 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 win over Bonet at No. 2 singles. AASU's singles point came from Array, who defeated Fraitzl, 7-5, 6-2, at No. 3 singles.

We'll have a post-wrap on the Pirates' amazing run over the last three years tomorrow, but now we'll keep rooting for the Lady Pirates, who are chasing their sixth NCAA DII National Championship !

Back To The Future - AASU Trails Barry, 2-1, After Doubles

In the 2009 NCAA Division II Men's Tennis National Championship match, the Pirates trailed Barry, 2-1, after doubles - but came up with four singles wins to edge the Bucs, 5-4.

Now in the 2010 quarterfinals, the Pirates will have to turn the same trick if they want to advance to the semifinals. No. 4 Barry won two of three doubles here against the No. 2 Pirates to take the 2-1 lead. No. 3-ranked Rafael Array (pictured) and Mikk Irdoja gave the Pirates' their doubles point with an 8-1 win over No. 10-ranked Ales Svigelj and Max Wimmer. At No. 3 doubles, Eudaldo Bonet and Paul Fitzgerald spotted Andrew Sharnov and Sergio Velez six games at the outset, fought back to get it to 7-6, but the Barry duo closed out an 8-6 win. At No. 2 doubles, Matus Mydla and Daniel Regan fell to Marco Mokzrycki and Emmanuel Fraitzl, 8-5.

In singles, several rematches will take place from last year and earlier this year. No. 2 singles will be a rematch of Bonet and Svigelj from last year's national championship match - won by Bonet, 7-6, 6-0. At No. 4 singles, Mydla and Wimmer will face off in a rematch of a 6-1, 6-1 win by Mydla earlier this year. And at No. 5 singles, Regan will face off against Sharnov after taking a 6-3, 7-6 win earlier this year.

Lady Pirates Move Into Semis With 5-0 Win Over Barry

On to the semifinals! The top-ranked Lady Pirates closed out a 5-0 win over No. 2-ranked Barry with a pair of straight set singles wins. Kathleen Henry (pictured) collected a 6-2, 6-0 win over Berit Peterson at No. 6 singles, then Martina Beckmann clinched the match with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Mia Focca at No. 5 singles.

(EDIT) The Lady Pirates will now face Hawaii Pacific, 5-2 winners over Cal (Pa.) - the Lady Pirates beat Hawaii Pacific, 9-0, on March 15 in Las Vegas, Nev.

No. 1 Lady Pirates Lead No. 2 Barry, 3-0, After Doubles

After doubles, the No. 1-ranked Lady Pirates lead the No. 2-ranked Barry Bucs by a 3-0 score. The difference in this 3-0 lead and the one from the regular season meeting on March 13 was the performance at No. 1 doubles. In that regular season meeting, Alida Muller-Wehlau and Martina Beckmann (pictured) toughed out a 9-8 (7-5) tiebreak win over Barbi Pocza and Yulia Kashelkina.

This morning, the No. 2-ranked Muller-Wehlau and Beckmann blasted through a 26-minute 8-0 win over No. 3-ranked Pocza and Kashelkina to give AASU the early 1-0 lead. At No. 3 doubles, 23rd-ranked Kathleen Henry and Tina Ronel beat Mia Focca and Berit Peterson, 8-3, while at No. 2 doubles, seventh-ranked Gabriella Kovacs and Sona Novakova completed the sweep with an 8-3 win over Julie Stas and Angie Werschel.

Checking the other quarterfinals - Lynn is up 3-0 over Slippery Rock, BYU-Hawaii is up 3-0 over Northwood and California (Pa.) and Hawaii Pacific are in for a marathon - HPU is up 1-0 with the other two doubles matches still on the courts.

Welcome To Quarterfinal Thursday

Good morning and welcome back to Sanlando Park for Quarterfinal Thursday at the 2010 NCAA DII Tennis National Championships. Today will have a dual match feel for the Pirates as both the men and the women take on Barry University.

Orlando Montoya of Georgia Public Broadcasting came out to Bacon Park last Friday during the Southeast Regional to do a story on AASU Tennis. If you happen to be out and about today, listen to your local Georgia NPR station to hear the story. EDIT: We have the link here !

Also, this blog thing just might be catching on. Barry University graduate assistant Lance Thomas has his own blog of the Bucs' run through the NCAA Tournament. We are all about equal opportunity here at the AASU Tennis Blog, so click here to view the Barry blog throughout the day today as well as reading us !

AASU Closes Out Kutztown, 5-0

The Pirates closed out their first-round win over Kutztown with a pair of straight-set singles wins on Wednesday afternoon. No. 1-ranked Mikk Irdoja defeated Kaushik Das, 6-1, 6-0, at No. 1 singles, then Paul Fitzgerald claimed a 6-0, 6-1 win over Cameron O'Donnell at No. 6 singles.

(EDIT) Tomorrow's opponent for the AASU men will be Barry. The Bucs defeated Drury, 5-1, and this will be the second meeting between the two teams this season. Back on March 13 in Las Vegas, AASU knocked off Barry, 8-1. Match time is 1:00 p.m. !

Pirates Lead Kutztown, 3-0, After Doubles

With match times backed up at Sanlando Park, the Pirates did not take the court until about 50 minutes after their scheduled match time of 4 p.m. against Kutztown. It did not affect No. 2 AASU's doubles play as the Pirates quickly swept all three doubles matches from the Golden Bears. Eudaldo Bonet and Paul Fitzgerald claimed an 8-0 win over Arijit Goswami and Cameron O'Donnell at No. 3 doubles; Matus Mydla and Daniel Regan notched an 8-1 win over Jonathan Goulet and Karren Krout at No. 2 doubles, then Rafael Array and Mikk Irdoja (pictured) closed out an 8-3 win over Kaushik Das and Arpit Sharma at No. 1 doubles. On to the singles !

Lady Pirates Advance Past Northeastern State, 5-0

The Lady Pirates claimed a pair of straight-set singles wins to complete a 5-0 victory over Northeastern State in Round of 16 action on Wednesday morning at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs. Gabriella Kovacs (pictured) - playing on the same court in which she clinched AASU's 2009 NCAA DII National Championship - clinched this match with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Northeastern State's Ivana Belejova. Martina Beckmann claimed the other singles win with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Claire Chanay.

Up next for the top-ranked Lady Pirates - a matchup with current No. 2-ranked Barry at 9 a.m. on Thursday. Barry swept past Nebraska-Kearney, 5-0, also on Wednesday morning.

AASU leads Northeastern State, 3-0 After Doubles

The Lady Pirates have taken a 3-0 lead over Northeastern State after doubles. Sona Novakova (pictured) and Gabriella Kovacs collected an 8-0 win at No. 2 doubles, while Martina Beckmann and Alida Muller-Wehlau won, 8-5, at No. 1 doubles and Kathleen Henry and Tina Ronel won, 8-3, at No. 3 doubles. Singles matches will start soon - live stats have been intermittent but the fine folks at Sanlando Park are working on things. You can still catch the live video when singles play resumes!

Alida Muller-Wehlau Named ITA National "Player To Watch"

Alida Muller-Wehlau was named the ITA's National "Player To Watch" at Tuesday night's NCAA/ITA banquet at the Hilton. The junior from Flensburg, Germany, becomes the fourth AASU player to earn National "Player To Watch" honors, joining Luisa Cowper (2004), Dziyana Nazaruk (2005) and Iuliia Stupak (2006) as Lady Pirates to earn the national honor. Read the complete release from AASUPirates.com here !

Both the Pirates and the Lady Pirates begin action on Wednesday. First up is the women bright and early at 8:00 a.m. against Northeastern State. Follow along with the live stats from the match as well as live video !

Pirates Off To Florida !

The Pirates are off to Florida! The AASU men's and women's tennis teams departed from campus at 5:00 p.m. this afternoon and are currently making the trek to Altamonte Springs, Fla. WJCL's Frank Sulkowski came out to campus to get footage of the Pirates hitting the road and also talked to Mikk Irdoja and Martina Beckmann about heading to nationals. Next stop - the 2010 NCAA Division II Men's & Women's Tennis National Championships !

New ITA Rankings Out - AASU Features Both #1 Singles Players

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association has released its latest NCAA DII singles and doubles rankings and the Pirates have the top-ranked singles player in the nation with both the men and the women! Junior Mikk Irdoja is the No. 1-ranked men's singles player as of the latest rankings, while sophomore Sona Novakova is the No. 1-ranked women's singles player. Click here to visit the ITA's ranking site and view all of the latest team and individual rankings!

Welcome to the AASU Tennis Blog for the 2010 NCAA Division II Tennis Championships !

Back for a third straight year, the AASU Tennis Blog returns to Altamonte Springs, Fla., and Sanlando Park for the 2010 NCAA Division II Tennis Championships !

The two-time defending DII national champion men's and women's tennis teams depart for Florida on Monday afternoon and once again we will be there to bring you all the action. Play begins on Wednesday, May 12, at Sanlando Park with the men meeting Kutztown (Pa.) and the women taking on Northeastern State (Okla.) !