Tough

After two utter heartbreaking losses by Armstrong tennis at the national championships just a few days ago, unfortunately the blog has to relate details of yet another tough defeat as the Pirates missed making the match play cut by two strokes - and two players bogeyed the final hole of their respective rounds.

Coming down to the final holes, there were five teams competing for essentially three spots. North Alabama posted a good number, but also had their final player bogey the last hole of their round. Malone and Indiana (Pa.) each looked like they were out of it but played their final nine holes well. And the roar that went up on hole 9 when Indiana's final player sank a birdie putt to break their tie with UNA and put them into the eighth spot was a great moment for DII men's golf.

But it still does not take away from the sting of what has been a memorable, yet ultimately tough several days for three very good Armstrong athletic teams. All three played their hearts out and represented themselves and the University well. All three have nothing to be ashamed of for the effort they displayed on the court and on the course. And in the end, we all are Pirates.

Now focus shifts to Armstrong softball. The blog is not in Salem physically but you can find all the details of the Pirates' drive to a national title on armstrongpirates.com, on facebook at www.facebook.com/armstrongpirates and on twitter @ArmstrongPirate.

Setting The Stage

It's the final day of stroke play for the 2014 NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championships and for the Pirates, who are currently on the outside looking in of match play, today is the perfect day to make a statement about Armstrong men's golf. Judging by the players' attitudes last night at dinner and again this morning, they are ready for the challenge.

As one team attempts to extend its season today, another arrived in Salem, Va., yesterday intent on writing its own postseason success story - the Armstrong softball team is at the James I. Moyer Sports Complex participating in its first practice of the DII Softball Championships. Tomorrow, the Pirates take on West Chester in the opening game of the tournament. Last year, Armstrong advanced to Sunday's semifinals, going 2-2 in Salem. This year, the Pirates will have a tough task as top-ranked West Texas A&M in is their half of the bracket - but first things first, Armstrong must get past West Chester to put themselves in the winner's bracket. Go Pirates !

One Spot Away

After all the scores came in of round two at the NCAA DII Men's Golf Championships, the Pirates moved up one spot to ninth. Of course, the target spot is eighth. So now head coach Michael Butler and the Pirates know what they need to do tomorrow - make up three strokes on eighth-place Indiana (Pa.) and then outplay the rest of the schools behind Armstrong in the standings.

It is a very bunched leaderboard from that standpoint. Nova Southeastern, who leads by seven strokes, is definitively in the match play field. However second is +21 (Chico State) and they are only 11 strokes ahead of eighth. Thirteen strokes separate USC Aiken, who is in 15th, and eighth as well.  Take a good look at the standings as they are right now. There will be plenty of jostling and movement throughout the day tomorrow.

The Pirates tee off at 12:55 and will be playing with seventh-place Malone and eighth-place Indiana (Pa.). Armstrong will also tee off on No. 10 first, which helped today as the Pirates shaved 12 strokes off of how they played the back nine from day one. Of the 208 birdies that have been recorded during the tournament so far, only 55 have come on the back nine. That is significant.

Also, enough can't be said about the round fifth-year senior Justin Wylie put up today. His even-par 71 was the third-best round he has shot in his career at Armstrong, and arguably came on the biggest stage. That round kept the Pirates within striking distance of advancing to match play, the goal for Armstrong coming into the national championships.

So join us on Wednesday for the final round of stroke play and root on the Pirates to the knockout stages !

Second Round In; Scoreboard Watching Time

The Pirates finished their second round just before 1 p.m., posting a 297 score, which was the third-best among the eight teams that teed off in the morning wave. Armstrong shaved nine strokes off of yesterday's 306 score and also played the back nine at +7, where yesterday the Pirates played the back nine at +19. The team gave a few strokes back over the final holes of the front nine, but senior Justin Wylie came up huge, sinking a 35-foot birdie putt on hole nine to close out an even-par round of 71 to lead Armstrong individually.

With 12 teams just into their front nine of holes, there is a lot of golf to be played in the second round and a lot of opportunity for teams to ether cement their place in the top eight, or fall back to the pack. As this entry is written, the Pirates are tied for 13th. Realistically, Armstrong could find itself right in the 8-10 range when today's play is done, which is clearly within striking distance of the cut line.

We'll be back later tonight to let you know just where Armstrong stands after the second round. Go Pirates !

Tuesday Morning

The Armstrong men's golf team woke up to wet conditions at the Meadows Golf Course for this morning's early 7:35 a.m. tee time. It looks like the Pirates will dodge the actual rain, but the wind continues to blow and wet conditions will make this morning's round a difficult one for Armstrong to make up ground. Follow live scoring of the second round and root on the Pirates to make up the strokes to get back into that top eight.

Head coach Michael Butler gave us his review of the first round yesterday as well. Watch that below. When the Pirates finished their round, they were 11th, but North Alabama slipping back put Armstrong into 10th. The same thing could certainly happen today.

Two Rounds In One

Today was the first round of the 2014 NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championships and for the Pirates, the story was simple: the front nine was good, the back nine was not.

Armstrong made the turn at +3, which put the Pirates tied for the overall lead. The back nine, however, turned into a chamber of horrors as Armstrong played the final nine holes at +19, slipping the Pirates into 10th place.

The bright spot is that no team that teed off in the afternoon played the back nine well. North Alabama, which was looking at being in fourth place as late as the 15th hole, blew up to fall below the Pirates and sits in 11th. The magic number is 8 - you want to be in the top 8 to make it to match play - and only two teams out of the current top eight teed off in the afternoon.

Tomorrow, the Pirates tackle the back nine first, teeing off at 7:35 a.m. However, rain showers will be falling overnight, which could certainly affect course conditions and even postpone the start of the round.

One thing is for certain - the Armstrong players miss their sweet tea. But even up here in western Michigan, McDonald's serves it up so the Pirates are headed there tomorrow morning before the round to get a little bit of the comfort of the South. Go Pirates !

Men's golf takes center stage

The blog now officially shifts its focus to the 2014 NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championships. Today was the practice round for the Pirates, and one thing is very clear - the Meadows Golf Course in Allendale, Mich., is a championship-level course for sure. When Barry won the title here in 2007, the Bucs did so with a +50 team score, and no player broke par over the course of the tournament.

And that was under ideal conditions.

This year, it will be 15+ MPH winds the entire three days before we get to the cut and the match play. And the rough is .. well, rough. You can get a glimpse of that in coach Michael Butler's video here.  Par is going to be a VERY good score on this course and if you do not hit shots in the fairway, you will struggle.

Read the preview of the Pirates heading into the tournament here. Armstrong tees off at Noon on Monday, then will tee off at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday.

A couple of housecleaning notes as well. Here is NCAA.com writer Denise Maloof's story on the Armstrong tennis senior parents who traveled from all over the world to come to Altamonte Springs for the tennis championships this year. Even though the results were tough, the support from the Armstrong families and friends was tremendous all week long.

Also, Armstrong softball knows who it is playing in the NCAA DII Softball Championships - West Chester will be the Pirates' first opponent, and the first game of the championships, on Thursday at Noon in Salem, Va.

Go Pirates !

Determined Pirates Fall In National Championship Match, 5-4

In a match that felt eerily similar to the Armstrong men's tennis match in the 2013 finals, the No. 2-ranked Pirates were staring at a 3-0 deficit after doubles. The last time Armstrong had been swept in doubles was 2004 - more than a decade.

And even dropping the first set in four of six singles matches, the Pirates did not falter. Armstrong fought back in singles to eventually draw even with top-ranked Barry, 4-4, with one match left on the court - and in a third-set tiebreaker. Olga Kalodzitsa battled Kimmie Twelker in a match that lasted nearly three and a half hours but fell, 7-4, in the third-set tiebreaker on a referee's overrule that was her third overrule of the match, resulting in a point penalty that turned a score that looked like it would be 5-all into the 7-4 win for the Bucs.

All credit to Barry. Their doubles lineup switch from the first meeting way back in February worked wonders - they turned a 2-1 deficit into the 3-0 advantage that they needed to win the national championship. The Bucs have now won the last two women's tennis titles in Altamonte Springs. Good news for the Pirates - we head back to Surprise, Ariz., next year for the finals.

But the grit and determination the Pirates displayed for what ended up being the final three hours of singles play not only took a page out of how the men played on Friday in the semifinals vs. West Florida, but should allow the team - and the four seniors, Barbora Krtickova, Aleksandra Filipovski, Marlen Hacke and Olga Kalodzitsa - to hold their heads high following the very difficult result today.

BIG congratulations though to the Armstrong softball squad, who knocked off North Georgia, 12-10, in the Super Regional final today to earn the program's second straight berth into the NCAA DII Softball National Championships in Salem, Va.

The Blog may put in for an extension if we get to Virginia, but for right now, it's off to Allendale, Mich., for the NCAA DII Men's Golf Championships !

Championship Saturday

Welcome to Championship Saturday at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs ! It's No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the   national championship match as the top-ranked Barry Bucs face off against your No. 2-ranked Armstrong Pirates for the 2014 NCAA Division II Women's Tennis title.

You can watch this morning's match live on NCAA.com or follow live stats of the match. We will also be tweeting out live updates @ArmstrongPirate and of course we'll give you the results after doubles and after the match right here.

Today is also a busy day for Armstrong softball as the Pirates need just one win today to advance to the NCAA Division II Softball World Series - first pitch is 12:00 p.m. from Dahlonega. And today is travel day for Armstrong men's golf, heading up to Allendale, Mich., for the NCAA Division II Men's Golf National Championships. The blog will be leaving on a jetplane this afternoon to join the golf team in Michigan later today, but first.. plenty of business to take care of here at Sanlando Park. Go Pirates !

Game Pirates Fall To Argos In Semifinals

When the No. 5-ranked Pirates dropped the first set in five of six singles matches against West Florida, things looked bleak. And even though the result went the way of the unbeaten Argos at the end of the day, what transpired between sets one and sets three may have defined the future of Armstrong men's tennis for the next few years.

With a team sporting three freshman, two sophomores and one lone senior, the Pirates battled back against the Argos to force a third set in all six singles matches in the 5-2 semifinal loss to West Florida. Jaan Kononov finished off his opponent 6-0 in the third set at No. 2 singles, and Pablo Gor was up 5-0 in the third of his match at No. 4 singles. The match lasted more than four hours and was clearly more than the Argos could have expected to face, especially after what transpired in the first meeting between the two teams.

Armstrong and West Florida met in February in Valdosta, Ga., in what was the Pirates' first match of the season. West Florida won all three doubles matches relatively easy, but rains forced the cancellation of the rest of the match. Fast forward nearly three months later and the amount of growth the Pirates have displayed on and off the court has been tremendous. The Pirates are national semifinalists for an eighth time in program history but the future clearly looks bright for Armstrong the next few years with the type of experience the returning players garnered today and this week. Tomorrow, the ladies get their chance at another title, but I'm sure the underclassmen you see below will have another chance coming up soon. Go Pirates !

Missed Opportunities

Doubles is over in the men's semifinals and for the No. 5 Pirates, it's a tale of what could have been as Armstrong trails top-ranked and unbeaten West Florida, 2-1, heading into singles play.

Jaan Kononov and Pedro Scocuglia fell behind early, 4-1, against Bruno Savi and Tony Rajaobelina at No. 1 doubles, but battled back to even things up at 4-4. With West Florida serving, the Pirates had triple break point, only to see the Argos come back and hold serve, then go on to the 8-5 win at No. 1 doubles.

Damian Okrutny and Ignacio Hernandez played a similarly close match but a key late break turned a 5-5 No. 2 doubles match into an 8-5 win for the Argos. Luca Cerin and Pablo Gor notched the Pirates' only double point with an 8-4 win at No. 3 doubles.

That means the Pirates must win four of six singles matches against the top-ranked Argos to advance to the National Championship match. Remember you can watch the singles play live on NCAA.com !

BACK TO THE FINALS !

When Barry knocked off the Pirates, 5-4, way back in February, many thought that the two teams would be on a collision course to meet in the finals if the Round of 16 bracket broke a certain way.

That collision course has been realized as Armstrong finished off No. 6 Saint Leo, 5-0, in one semifinal match and top-ranked Barry defeated No. 5 Hawai'i Pacific, 5-1, in the other semifinal match. These two rivals have matched up numerous times in the NCAA Championships, but oddly enough have never met with the National Championship on the line - until this year.

Much has been written about the Pirates' recent run of five national championships in the last six seasons, but Barry's lone title in DII women's tennis in 2011 is the outlier in that run for Armstrong. And the title also came at Sanlando Park in 2011, the last time the Championships were at the facility. So it is truly a write-your-own-storyline situation for what should be an outstanding National Championship Saturday at Sanlando Park. 9:00 a.m. will be the match time for the Pirates and the Bucs.

Now it's time to see if the men can join the women in the final as they get set to take on West Florida. Go Pirates !

Pirates take a 3-0 lead over Saint Leo in the semifinals

Armstrong has taken a 3-0 lead over Saint Leo in doubles - after a quick 8-1 win by Aleksandra Filipovski and Barbora Krtickova at No. 1 doubles, the Lions battled at No. 2 and No. 3. Carolina Prats-Millan and Clara Perez were up 4-3, but won four straight games to close out their match 8-3 at No. 3 doubles. Marlen Hacke and Olga Kalodzitsa led, 7-2, at No. 2 doubles, but Saint Leo battled back to make it 7-5 before Kalodzitsa closed out the match with a powerful service game to give Armstrong the lead.

In the other semifinal, top-ranked Barry leads No. 5-ranked Hawai'i Pacific, 2-1. Barry won the top two doubles and HPU won No. 3 doubles.

Go Pirates !

... And Then There Were Four

Welcome to Semifinal Friday at the NCAA Division II Tennis Championships in Sanlando Park. After all of the weather issues of the last two days, we woke up to a very reasonable 63 degrees with a light breeze and plenty of sun - whatever may happen today on the court, Mother Nature won't be to blame as it is going to be a gorgeous day here in Altamonte Springs, Fla.

The women are up first at 9 a.m., taking on No. 6-ranked Saint Leo. The Lions have been the darlings of the tournament, knocking off No. 3 BYU-Hawaii in the Round of 16, then punching their ticket to the national semifinals with a 5-2 win over No. 12 California, Pa. It is the first time that Saint Leo has advanced to the national semifinals in any sport in the program's history.

Contrast that to the Pirates, who are in their 11th consecutive women's tennis semifinals. If you can excuse the analogy, Saint Leo is playing with house money right now and should be pretty loose heading into this morning's matchup.

The other semifinal matchup is No. 1 Barry vs. No. 5 Hawai'i Pacific, which will be the live stream match this morning. Follow Armstrong vs. Saint Leo live stats HERE and also follow us on Twitter @armstrongpirate !

Friday is also the first day of the NCAA DII Softball Southeast Super Regional. The No. 19-ranked Pirates take on No. 2-ranked North Georgia at 2 p.m. Live stats of that matchup are HERE, while live video is HERE. Good luck to Armstrong softball today, trying to make a return trip to the NCAA DII Softball World Series !

Thursday Late-Night Wrapup

As promised, here are the post-match comments from Jaan Kononov and Luca Cerin following Thursday night's 5-1 win over Northwest Missouri State.

In the interest of equal opportunity, let's take a look at the post-match comments from No. 1 West Florida, the Pirates' opponents on Friday in the semifinals.

The semifinal field features the top-ranked Argos, the No. 2-ranked Hawaii Pacific Sea Warriors, No. 3 Barry and the No. 5-ranked Pirates. It's been quite a while since Armstrong has been the underdog at the NCAA Championships, but the team has embraced it, as you can tell from the video above. Should be a fantastic semifinal Friday at the NCAA Championships !

Weathering The Storm

The No. 5-ranked Armstrong men's tennis team again had its match delayed by weather, starting six hours later than originally scheduled, but the Pirates eventually took the court and eventually took care of No. 21 Northwest Missouri State, 5-1, to make its third straight trip into the NCAA Semifinals.

The Pirate men and women are each into the semifinals for the third straight year as well, but Armstrong has plenty of company - three of the four semifinal teams hail from the same school as Hawaii Pacific's men's and women's tennis teams are into the semis, as are Barry's. Only Saint Leo's women and West Florida's men made the semis without their counterparts joining them.

West Florida is a familiar foe for the Armstrong men in the NCAA Tournament, but the roles are reversed this year. Usually the Pirates are the top-ranked team, or the favorites, but this year the Argos are clearly the favorites as West Florida is unbeaten and top-ranked. The two teams were scheduled to meet during the regular season but the horrible February weather cancelled that match (and many others) for the Pirates.

So tomorrow's schedule sees the Armstrong women facing Saint Leo at 9 a.m., with the showdown between the Armstrong men and West Florida taking place at 1 p.m. Weather looks majesterial for tomorrow and Saturday so we should have no more delays.

We'll be back a little bit later with video from the guys and their comments on tonight's match. Go Pirates !

Time And Tide

The rains continue to fall at Sanlando Park, pushing back the Armstrong men's tennis quarterfinals match against Northwest Missouri State until 7 p.m. Remember, yesterday's contest against NYIT was originally scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and eventually got underway at 7:20. The good news is that there is not a match that must complete before the Pirates take the court, so as soon as the weather clears, we should be underway.

More honors are rolling in for Armstrong sports - congratulations to senior baseball pitcher Ethan Bader, who was named to a pair of All-Region teams today. Also junior shortstop Alexis Mercer and designated player Lacye Walker earned first-team All-Region honors from the NFCA coaches' association.

Also, senior Barbora Krtickova repeated as a member of the Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District III Women's At-Large team. She made the team last year en route to earning Academic All-American honors, which will be announced in June.

Finally, here is the post-match interview with Marlen Hacke and Olga Kalodzitsa after today's win over NYIT. Enjoy and Go Pirates !

On to the Semifinals !

For the 11th straight time, the Armstrong women's tennis team is heading to the NCAA Semifinals after a convincing 5-0 win over No. 11-ranked NYIT on Thursday morning at Sanlando Park. For a second straight match, the Pirates were facing a team making its latest foray into the postseason, and immediately Armstrong took charge as the No. 8-ranked doubles duo of Marlen Hacke and Olga Kalodzitsa won their doubles match 8-2 in a very quick time - the other two doubles matches played for nearly 25 minutes more after the duo knocked off their opponents. It can't be said enough about how crucial it is to win all three doubles matches in a tournament format - psychologically and physically it represents a huge advantage, and an advantage that the other divisions don't have as both DI and DIII play the seven-point format where teams only get one point for all three doubles matches.

The Pirates will face either No. 6 Saint Leo or No. 12 California (Pa.) in the semifinal - those two teams are still playing as we post this - at 9:00 a.m. on Friday. Next up, the No. 5-ranked Armstrong men take on No. 18 Northwest Missouri State at 1:00 p.m. as the Bearcats are yet another team that is making its furthest appearance into the postseason. But until then, enjoy this picture of senior Aleksandra Filipovski after her first-set win in today's singles play !

Quarterfinal Wednesday

Welcome to Quarterfinal Wednesday here at Sanlando Park. The Armstrong women's tennis team is getting ready to take the court against NYIT at 9 a.m. - and the Pirates will make their first appearance this week on the NCAA's Live Video for today's match against the Bears. This is the furthest that NYIT has ever made it in the NCAA tournament and, after the Pirates outlasted the NYIT men's team yesterday, you can expect the Bears will be game for today's matchup.

Yesterday was a marathon day in the Round of 16 - a day that did not finish until after 3 a.m., where Southwest Baptist's men's team beat Bluefield State, 5-4. The other big news of the day was Saint Leo's 5-4 upset win over No. 3 BYU-Hawai'i in the women's bracket. It's always news when the Seasiders fall in the tournament - this was the first time a team other than Lynn or Armstrong had eliminated BYU-Hawai'i from the NCAA Tournament.

So follow the Pirates this morning as they try to advance to the semifinals, but also watch our post-match interview with Pablo Gor and Pedro Scocuglia after the Pirates' 5-1 win over NYIT late last night. Go Pirates !

Long Day's Journey Into Night

So the No. 2 Pirates had to wait six hours - between multiple lightning and rain delays as well as a lengthy match in front of them - to take the court in the NCAA's Round of 16 on Tuesday evening. The Pirates took a 2-1 lead over a game NYIT squad who was clearly out to erase the sting of last year's elimination in the first round at the NCAA Championships.

Armstrong won the first set in five of six singles matches, but after Pablo Gor's quick 6-0, 6-1 win made the score 3-1, the Bears won a key first-set tiebreaker and two second sets to extend the match deep into the Tuesday night. Jaan Kononov overcame a first-set deficit to notch the Pirates' second singles win, then Luca Cerin finished things off by rebounding from his second-set deficit to claim a quick 6-3 third-set win to send Armstrong into the semifinals.

So the match ended at around 10:45, making something you and I take for granted - dinner - a difficult task. Obviously the Pirates didn't want to eat dinner -before- playing a three-and-a-half hour match, but as the match wore on, restaurants in and around Altamonte Springs closed up their kitchens on for them is a normally dull Tuesday night. Thanks to some late takeout from Outback, however, the Pirates were able to get fed and will head back to the hotel for some much-needed rest before tomorrow's battle against either Northwood (Mich.) or Northwest Missouri State - who as of the time of this blog post are still battling in their Round of 16 match.

Good night Pirate fans and we will talk to you tomorrow from Sanlando Park !

Rain and Shine

So rains continue to sprinkle on and off Sanlando Park, which means that the men's first match against NYIT will now be delayed, possibly until 3:30 or even 4 p.m. (we are hoping for 3:30 !), as the Columbus State / Lewis women's match is just now into doubles play at 1:45 p.m. Live scoring for the match against NYIT will be here once it gets underway - please follow us on twitter @ArmstrongPirate for the absolute latest weather updates all week long.

Here, though, is the first of hopefully many post-match interviews from our teams as Barbora Krtickova and Aleksandra Filipovski share their thoughts on today's match against Wayne State (Mich.)

Women Open Strong With 5-0 Win Over Wayne State (Mich.)

A first-time opponent for a team can be a difficult proposition, so when the Pirates faced Wayne State (Mich.) in the NCAA Round of 16 on Tuesday morning, it represented a perfect opportunity for the Pirates to get some of the opening-day jitters in the NCAA Championships out of the way. The Warriors, who handed Northwood (Mich.) their first loss of the season in the region final to earn a berth into the NCAA Round of 16, battled early, especially at No. 3 doubles, before the Pirates found their groove to come away with the 5-0 win.

Armstrong will now advance to face NYIT in the Quarterfinals at 9 a.m. on Thursday. NYIT upended St. Mary's (Texas), 5-0, to earn that school's first berth into the NCAA Quarterfinals. The men will face NYIT in the first round later today.

There is rain on the horizon but we hope that it will hold off to allow the men to take the court at 1:30 p.m.

Awards Time !

Tuesday evening before the NCAA Round of 16 begins is the ITA's annual awards banquet, and tonight Armstrong sophomore Carolina Prats-Millan was named the ITA's National "Player To Watch," joining an illustrious group of former Pirates who have won the award. The No. 28-ranked singles player in the nation, Prats-Millan is on fire coming into the Round of 16, having won 18 consecutive singles matches, all in straight sets, while giving up just three games in a set once during that streak.

The other Armstrong winners of the women's "Player To Watch" are a who's-who of Pirate tennis - Armstrong Hall of Famer Luisa Cowper (2004), Dziyana Nazaruk (2005), Hall of Famer and current assistant coach Iuliia Sherrod (2006) and Alida Muller-Wehlau (2010) - who is in Altamonte Springs to watch the Pirates play this week!

On the men's side, senior Pedro Scocuglia was named the ITA's Southeast Region "Senior of the Year" for his career-best No. 8 singles rank while also earning PBC Player of the Year honors.

We also want to pass along our congratulations to softball's Alexis Mercer, who was named the Daktronics Southeast Region Player of the Year. Mercer and teammate Lacye Walker earned first-team honors ahead of this weekend's Super Regional in Dahlonega.

Tomorrow, the Pirates hit the courts. The court assignments won't have Armstrong on the NCAA's live video unfortunately, but you can follow live stats of the women's match vs. Wayne State (Mich.) at 8:00 a.m. ET HERE and live stats of the men's match vs. NYIT at 1:30 p.m. ET HERE. We should *knock on wood* avoid weather issues tomorrow, but Thursday is going to be very interesting since they are calling for 100% chance of rain.

Go Pirates !

Travel Day !

Monday morning means it's travel day for the Armstrong men's and women's tennis teams! Both teams will depart today for Altamonte Springs after a practice on campus.

A couple of congratulations to pass along - first to all the Armstrong student-athletes who graduated on Saturday, including tennis players Pedro Scocuglia, Marlen Hacke, Olga Kalodzitsa, Barbora Krtickova and Aleksandra Filipovski. Yes, all five seniors on this year's teams graduated within four years. An outstanding accomplishment!

Also congratulations to the Armstrong softball team, who advanced to a second straight NCAA Super Regional by winning the Southeast Regional #2 up in Anderson, S.C., with Sunday's 6-1 win over USC Aiken. The Pirates will now have a tough task on Friday and Saturday, traveling to No. 2 North Georgia for a best-of-three Super Regional with the Nighthawks. The winner of that Super Regional advances to the NCAA DII Softball World Series on May 22-26 in Salem, Va. Go Pirates !

Welcome to the 2014 Armstrong men's and women's tennis and men's golf blog !

Yep, that's right.. for the seventh straight year, we are going to bring you live coverage of the Armstrong men's and women's tennis teams as they travel to Altamonte Springs, Fla., for the 2014 NCAA Division II National Championships. But our blog journey doesn't stop there, for once the tennis championships are done, we will then journey to Allendale, Mich., to follow the Armstrong men's golf team at the NCAA Division II National Championships. So fully two weeks of national championship action featuring three of the Pirates' squads will be right here for you to follow.

The tennis teams will depart on Monday, May 12th, for Florida and play begins on Wednesday, May 14th. Visit the nice national championship site designed by Jonathan Hower from the Sunshine State Conference for all the information on the tennis championships. Men's golf will fly to Michigan on Saturday, May 17th, with play beginning on Monday, May 19th at the Meadows Golf Course.

We also do not want to neglect two other sports in action - baseball begins play in the Peach Belt Conference Championships on Saturday, May 10th, while softball is currently in action at the NCAA Southeast Regional in Anderson, S.C. That's five teams in postseason play and it's almost mid-May. It is certainly great to be a Pirate !