ARMSTRONG ATLANTIC TAKES MEN'S TENNIS NATIONAL TITLE!

Armstrong Atlantic State finished off a historic season by winning their first-ever NCAA men's tennis National Championship on Saturday with a 5-0 win over Barry. The win caps an epic run for the Pirates, who finish the season undefeated at 31-0 by beating the #6, #3 and #5 ranked teams in the nation.

The match began with AASU sweeping the doubles, but only barely. The Pirates captured two doubles points against Barry, and had an opportunity for the third point, but Paul Bishop and Davor Zink could not convert two break points at 7-5, 15-40 against Andrew Sharnov and Roman Werschel at No. 3 doubles. Once the match got to deuce, rains started to fall and play was suspended for 42 minutes. When play resumed, Barry held serve, but Bishop came up with an ace on match point to give the Pirates the 3-0 lead.

At No. 1 doubles, the duo of Patrick Johannsen and Rafael Array defeated Patrick Rittenauer and Ales Svigelj, 8-3, while Christian Bergh and Robert Jendelund defeated Emmanuel Fraitzl and Jakub Fejfar, 8-3, at No. 2 doubles in the other two doubles matches.

Singles started with both teams taking three first sets. The Pirates enjoyed advantages at No. 1, No. 5 and No. 6 singles, with the Bucs taking leads at No. 2, No. 5 and No. 6 singles. Freshman Tim Johannsen, ranked sixth in singles, completed a 6-2, 6-3 win over 15th-ranked Patrick Rittenauer at No. 1 singles. Barely three minutes later, 50th-ranked sophomore Christian Bergh clinched the victory with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Roman Werschel at No. 5 singles.

The first meeting between the two teams was a tight affair, at Barry with Armstrong Atlantic eeking out a 5-4 victory. AASU's men's tennis title came in its first appearance in the championship match, and is also the Pirates' first-ever NCAA Championship in a men's sport.

The National Championship is the 26th for the Peach Belt Conference after the AASU women's team won the title earlier in the day. AASU becomes the second school in recent history to hold both the men's and women's championships in the same year, joining BYU Hawaii who did it in 2002 and 2003. The men's tennis title is the first for the PBC since Lander ended their unprecendented run of eight straight from 1993-2000.

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