PBC Releases Men's Tennis Tournament Bracket
AUGUSTA, GA – The Peach Belt Conference has unveiled the
bracket for the 2009 men’s tennis tournament which begins on
Friday at the Clayton County Tennis Center in Jonesboro, Ga. The
event is hosted by Clayton State University. All nine PBC
men’s teams will compete for the tournament championship and
an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The PBC tournament will be one of the premier Division II
men’s events in the nation with seven of the league’s
nine teams ranked in the latest ITA national poll, by far the most
from any single conference. PBC singles players also account for
more than 25% of the top 50 ranked players in the country.
Georgia College & State University is the #1 seed for the
tournament. The Bobcats captured their first-ever PBC regular
season championship with a 7-0 conference record, going unbeaten in
conference play for the first time. GCSU is currently ranked #6 in
the nation and are led by three nationally-ranked singles players.
Erick Siqueira is the 2008 PBC Player of the Year and is ranked #8
in the nation while Justin Pickham is 15th and Francis Yoshimoto is
24th. The doubles team of Pickham and Siqueira is ranked #2
nationally, the highest of any PBC team.
Armstrong Atlantic State, in a strange twist, will be the #2 seed
in the PBC Tournament despite being the #1-ranked team in the
nation and defending national champions. The Pirates fell to GCSU
5-4 back on Feb. 24 which knocked them from the #1 spot in the
nation. However, AASU has not lost since, winning 14 straight
matches since for a 21-1 overall record, and regained the top spot
in the national poll. Freshman Eudaldo Bonet is the highest-ranked
singles player in the PBC at #2 in the national poll. Bonet has an
18-3 record at #1 singles and has not lost to a conference opponent
this season. Paul Bishop is #23 in the nation while Mikk Irdoja is
25th.
Columbus State fell to GCSU 5-4 then to Armstrong Atlantic 6-3 in
back-to-back matches in February, then went on a 12-match winning
streak to be the third seed in the PBC. The Cougars, 15-4 overall,
are ranked 8th in the nation and led at #1 singles by Frank Suarez
who has a 10-5 record at that spot and is ranked 16th. Dmitri Caron
is 32nd and the doubles team of Suarez and Luis Gonzalez is ranked
8th nationally.
USC Aiken cracked the top 10 in the latest ITA poll, the first
top-10 national ranking in school history. The Pacers enter the PBC
with a 10-match winning streak, their last loss coming back on
March 5 to Columbus State 6-3. USCA has beaten four
nationally-ranked teams during their current run. Bruno Seves is
15-3 in the top singles spot and ranked sixth nationally while
Dagoberto Darezzo is 21st.
Francis Marion enters the PBC tournament on a five-match win streak
and are ranked 17th nationally. The Patriots will be the fifth seed
at the PBC and look to Oshada Wijemanne at #1 singles who is ranked
10th nationally. The doubles team of Wijemanne and Dilshod Sharifi
is ranked sixth nationally.
Lander is the #6 seed at the tournament and ranked 18th nationally.
Damien Cordesse is the #40 singles player in the nation while Shey
Wali is 42nd. Augusta State is the seventh seed, ranked 24th in the
country.
North Georgia will be the #8 seed at the PBC Tournament and face #9
Georgia Southwestern in the first round. GSW is making their first
PBC Tournament appearance after moving up to full NCAA Division II
status last summer.
The PBC Tournament format has changed for 2009 in that there will
be no back draw on the bracket. The tournament will begin with
three matches on Friday at 2:00 pm and continue on to the
championship match on Sunday at 12:00.