SAVANNAH, Ga. - The No. 2-ranked and undefeated Armstrong Atlantic State University men's tennis team took its first step towards a return to the National Championship with a 5-0 win over No. 29-ranked Anderson in the NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Championships on Monday afternoon in Southeast Regional action at Bacon Park.
The Pirates (25-0) advance to Tuesday's Southeast Regional final match where they will face No. 12-ranked Flagler, a 5-1 winner over Augusta State, at 10:00 a.m. The winner moves on to the NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Round of 16 in Altamonte Springs, Fla., on May 11-14.
Armstrong collected three quick doubles wins to take a 3-0 lead into singles play. Eudaldo Bonet and Daniel Regan claimed an 8-3 win over Jerome Branker and Trey Halbauer at No. 3 doubles, while Matus Mydla and Pedro Scocuglia beat Deni Mehagic and Ilya Zakharov at No. 2 doubles. Top-ranked Rafael Array and Mikk Irdoja completed the doubles sweep with an 8-5 win over No. 15-ranked Stan Atema and Daniel Gonzalez at No. 1 doubles.
The Pirates then clinched the match with a pair of 6-0, 6-0 singles wins as top-ranked Bonet beat Mehagic at No. 2 singles and Regan bested Halbauer at No. 5 singles.
Anderson closes its season with a 14-9 record after advancing to Monday's match with a 5-4 win over Queens on Sunday.
